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Dive brief:
- The first U.S.-based national green bank, led by the nonprofit Green Capital Coalition, has opened with more than $5 billion in Inflation Reduction Act funding, the group announced on Thursday.
- CGC, which also operates as the American Green Bank Consortium, said it will use the IRA funding for direct and indirect clean energy investments using a network of state and local green banks, according to the release.
- First the Environmental Protection Agency chose CGC to help establish a national green bank in April, awarding the group $5 billion from the National Clean Investment Fund as part of a $20 billion greenhouse gas reduction fund. The greenhouse gas reduction fund was part of the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022, which included $369 billion in clean energy benefits.
Diving knowledge:
CGC said the EPA funding will allow the organization to invest directly in qualified clean energy projects and help create a “self-sustaining national network of state and local green bankscommunity lenders and community partners. As the American Green Bank Consortium, a membership organization of green banks, CGC reported that its members invested $10.6 billion by 2023, including $5.2 billion in public investments and $5.4 billion in private equity, according to a report. report also published on Thursday.
CGC CEO and co-founder Reed Hundt, a former chairman of the Federal Communications Commission and former chairman of CGC, said Thursday’s announcement set in motion a process that frees up EPA funding to allow the bank to build the personal headquarters, make investments and start building a network of green investors in every state.
“Finally, our vision is officially a reality. The nation’s first national green bank is open for business,” Hundt said in Thursday’s statement. “It’s time for public-private investment to join U.S. Department of Energy tax credits and loans as the three ways this administration will win the battle against catastrophic climate change and fight for social justice in every American community.”
According to the statement, the bank expects to use the EPA award to make $21.1 billion in cumulative investments in public-private clean energy projects in the first year. Hundt said the bank has already hired 23 employees, a number expected to double by the end of the calendar year, and more than $10 billion in projects in its portfolio.
Bryan Garcia, who chairs the CGC board and is president and CEO of the Connecticut Green Bank, thanked the EPA for the “methodical, thorough and extensive process” that led to the first national green bank in the US.
“There is no time to waste in working with our network of green banks to mobilize private investment across the country, especially in underinvested communities, in projects that reduce greenhouse gas emissions and air pollution and create significant benefits: reducing energy costs for families, creating jobs in our communities, improving public health and growing the green economy,” Garcia said in Thursday’s statement.
CGC also announced the initial team of the national green bank on Thursday, which includes several veterans of the green economy and renewable energy. In addition to Hundt and Garcia, the team will be made up of, according to the release:
- Stephen Brown, Network Director, Founder and CEO of Texas Green Bank, Clean Energy Fund of Texas;
- Chief Impact Officer Jessica Buendia, previously vice president of sustainability at national nonprofit Dream.Org;
- Chief Operating Officer and Compliance Jeff Diehl, a 40-year veteran of financial institutions who previously served as CEO of Rhode Island Infrastructure Bank;
- Chief Investment Officer and Chief Investment Officer Alfred Griffin, former president of New York Green Bank;
- Michael Hoffman, chief investment officer, former senior managing director of the Blackstone Group and co-head of Riverstone’s renewable energy funds;
- Eli Hopson, Managing Director of Administration and Development, most recently the inaugural CEO of the DC Green Bank;
- CFO Sanjeev Kumar, a 25-year veteran of the renewables industry with two successful initial public offerings on his resume;
- Chief of Staff Daniela Nyiri; a veteran campaigner and advocate, who created the greenbankmovement.org database; i
- David Pettit, general counsel and chief strategy officer, former deputy general counsel of Xcel Energy.
The bank’s application helped build a coalition of 18 subrecipients, including 16 state and local green banks and two national nonprofits. The national green bank will also help fund and support a network of 191 other participating partners “to develop a national pipeline that can equitably drive clean energy adoption.” according to their website.
