Overview
Pursuant to the Green Finance Authority Establishment Act of 2018, the DC Green Bank was established to increase the use of private funds for sustainable projects and programs by offering and promoting the use of financing mechanisms for sustainable projects and programs, in order to increase private investment in clean energy, clean transportation vehicles and infrastructure, clean water, stormwater management, energy efficiency, water efficiency, and green infrastructure projects in the District of Columbia.
DC Green Bank is an independent instrumentality of the District. Critical for its efficacy, DC Green Bank’s mandate establishes an entity that is guarded from political interference and is a trusted partner for private capital.
All of DC Green Bank’s funds are consolidated into the Green Finance Authority Fund (Fund). Through additional funding sources, such as the District’s Renewable Energy Development Fund (REDF) and Sustainable Energy Trust Fund (SETF), DC has committed over $100 million over the first 5 years to support sustainable projects and programs.
Since the DC Green Bank’s full launch as an institution in April of 2020, it has worked quickly to build the DC Green Bank team while advancing their mission to work with DC residents, businesses, and community institutions and providing access to capital and growing the clean economy to develop a more equitable, resilient, and sustainable DC.
Activities
To accelerate DC’s clean economy, DC Green Bank will serve as a pathfinder, model capital provider, loan originator, demonstration lender, structured finance participant, credit enhancer, and program administrator.
The Coalition for Green Capital estimates that it will take over $2 billion of investment in the coming years to meet the District’s climate goals, the vast majority of which will need to come from private funding. Towards filling this financing gap, DC Green Bank is developing a pipeline of potential investments in sustainable projects.
The pipeline includes potential investments across DC Green Bank’s core sector focus areas – solar, stormwater resilience and green infrastructure, green buildings, and transportation electrification – and are in support of numerous District priorities, including schools and community serving organizations, residents in affordable housing, small businesses, nonprofits, and beyond.
Launching operations in April 2020 amidst a global pandemic and acute civil unrest, DC Green Bank highlighted the urgent need to advance sustainability and social justice together. As a result, DC Green Bank has committed to:
- Invest in clean infrastructure, the deployment of clean technologies, and energy efficiency upgrades.
- Maximize the impact and benefit to DC residents of public funds by leveraging and encouraging private investment alongside our financing.
- Launch and innovate financial tools that increase capacity, accelerate lending, address financing gaps and reduce upfront costs.
- Drive innovation and transformation to create equitable access to credit for sustainable technologies and support the elimination of the vestiges of historical and systemic barriers to credit access in DC’s communities.
Impact
During its first year, DC Green Bank focused on meeting financing gaps with construction bridge loans, replicating successful existing programs employed by green banks in other jurisdictions, and developing partnerships with local stakeholders to deepen the wealth of knowledge and expertise supporting DC’s clean economy.
From its inception, the DC Green Bank has demonstrated success and transparency as evidenced by its comprehensive Annual Report. DC Green Bank commitments have contributed investments to clean energy projects of around $4 million (USD), unlocking more than $15 million in private sector investments. The investments have a projected lifetime utility bill savings of $6 million and has impacted over 500 households in the District of Columbia. As a result, over 100 jobs have been created in the clean economy.
Last updated November 12, 2021
