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Financing Energy Improvements on Utility Bills: Case Studies from the Field

Author(s)
Eleni Pelican, U.S. Department of Energy,
Mark Zimring, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory,
Greg Leventis, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory,
Merrian Borgeson, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory,
Charles Goldman, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory,
Peter Thompson, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory,
Ian Hoffman, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory
Publication Date
Organizations or Programs
Power Smart,
New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA),
Pacific Gas and Electric Company (PG&E)

This webcast provided an overview of on-bill financing programs, and presented three case studies: Manitoba Hydro, New York State Energy Research and Development Authority, and Pacific Gas & Electric (California).

Author(s)
DNV KEMA Energy & Sustainability
Publication Date

This report documents findings and recommendations from an impact evaluation of the California Energy Commission’s California Comprehensive Residential Retrofit program, a statewide energy upgrade program funded by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009. The program funded local and regional subrecipients to develop and test initiatives aimed at transforming the residential energy upgrade market and building an infrastructure for whole-building energy upgrades. These local and regional governments collaborated with California’s major utilities to jointly conduct the statewide Energy Upgrade California program.

Overview and Preliminary Results of ARRA-Funded SGIG Consumer Behavior Studies

Author(s)
State and Local Energy Efficiency Action Network
Publication Date

This webcast discusses the background for U.S. Department of Energy’s Smart Grid Investment Grant (SGIG) consumer behavior study effort; the various utilities who are participating and what they each plan to include their respective studies; the quantitative results and qualitative lessons learned thus far from these studies; and the types of research will be undertaken by LBNL over the next several years.

Author(s)
U.S. Department of Energy
Publication Date
Organizations or Programs
Cambridge Energy Alliance

This summary from a Better Buildings Residential Network peer exchange call focused on challenges and strategies related to split incentives for tenants and landlords.

Author(s)
U.S. Department of Energy
Publication Date
Organizations or Programs
EnergySmart,
Energy Upgrade California,
Solar and Energy Loan Fund (SELF)

This summary from a Better Buildings Residential Network peer exchange call focused on new and updated revenue strategies.

Author(s)
U.S. Department of Energy
Publication Date
Organizations or Programs
Michigan Saves,
BeSmart Maryland

This summary from a Better Buildings Residential Network peer exchange call focused on how loan performance data is tracked and analyzed, and what the data shows.

Author(s)
U.S. Department of Energy
Publication Date
Organizations or Programs
Denver Energy Challenge,
Energy Impact Illinois

This summary from a Better Buildings Residential Network peer exchange call focused on using social media for long-term branding and marketing.

Author(s)
Home Energy Magazine
Publication Date
Organizations or Programs
Energy Impact Illinois
This article provides 10 tips home energy contractors can use to update their marketing outreach and improve their customer service.
Author(s)
Opinion Dynamics Corporation
Publication Date
Organizations or Programs
Energy Upgrade California

This study of Energy Upgrade California aims to: establish baseline consumer brand awareness; understand consumer associations with the brand; and understand consumer awareness of energy management and bill savings opportunities and barriers to taking action on those opportunities.

Author(s)
Extractable
Publication Date
Organizations or Programs
Energy Upgrade California

This study reviews consumer-facing energy-focused websites and their related assets to provide a comprehensive roadmap for website development to transform and optimize the Energy Upgrade California web portal to better support the program efforts facilitating consumer and small business participation.

Author(s)
University of North Carolina Center for Community Capital - Institute for Market Transformation
Publication Date
Study examining actual loan performance data to assess whether residential energy efficiency is associated with lower default and prepayment risks. Results show that default risks are on average 32 percent lower in energy-efficient homes, controlling for other loan determinants.
Author(s)
U.S. Department of Energy
Publication Date
Organizations or Programs
Energy Upgrade California

This summary from a Better Buildings Residential Network peer exchange call focused on the strategies and challenges of using holidays and other seasonal events to market energy assessments and upgrades.

Author(s)
Green For All
Publication Date
Organizations or Programs
MPower Oregon,
Kansas How$mart,
PSE&G New Jersey Multifamily Program,
Windsor Efficiency PAYS

This report highlights program and policy attributes that enable successful on-bill programs based on analysis of four program case studies.

Author(s)
U.S. Department of Energy
Publication Date
Organizations or Programs
Colorado ENERGY STAR Homes,
Connecticut Neighbor to Neighbor Energy Challenge,
Silicon Valley Energy Watch Program,
The Home Energy Rebate Option,
New Jersey Home Performance with ENERGY STAR,
Efficiency Vermont,
Energy Trust of Oregon,
New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA)
The objective of this document is to help state and local governments understand the role of program administrators (PAs) and assist them in developing successful partnerships with utility and other energy efficiency PAs. The majority of this paper presents information on partnering and leveraging current energy efficiency activities. However, it also includes information for governments in areas without active PAs, as well as an appendix with a case study describing how state and local governments can fill gaps and administer programs in the absence of a PA.
Author(s)
U.S. Department of Energy
Publication Date

This peer exchange call summary focused on strategies, opportunities and focuses on shared space and technology in multi-family buildings and in-unit upgrades.

Author(s)
Small Town Energy Program
Publication Date

The Small Town Energy Program (STEP) toolkit gives a complete overview of STEP from planning to implementation. It also includes access to a wide variety of materials developed by the program, including: local asset materials, partner materials, personnel materials, program administrative materials, outreach materials, and surveys. STEP has posted these toolkit documents with the hope that it will assist other small towns and communities in building and running more energy efficiency programs.

Author(s)
The Town of University Park,,
Maryland
Publication Date
Organizations or Programs
Small Town Energy Program (STEP)

An assembly of all the key elements that went into the design and delivery of STEP -- formerly STEP-UP, a University Park, Maryland, Better Buildings Neighborhood Program partner.

Author(s)
Pacific Northwest National Laboratory
Publication Date

This report contains information on the market for home performance upgrades and the opportunities that exist for new home performance contractors; start-up needs and costs for firms entering the home performance contracting industry; home performance business approaches; and how established home performance contractors attract customers. It also contains detailed profiles of eight successful home performance firms across the United States.

Author(s)
State and Local Energy Efficiency Action Network
Publication Date

This report contains guidance on issues and policy options related to providing access to customer energy use information that can be used to support and enhance the provision of energy efficiency services while protecting customer privacy.

Author(s)
California Public Utilities Commission
Publication Date
This report focuses on four utilities in California. The research for this report included reviewing program documents and tracking databases, conducting two rounds of interviews with four investor owned utility program managers, interviewing California Public Utility Commission staff members and an intervener, surveying 76 on-bill financing program participants and 29 vendors who helped deliver the program, interviewing 12 account executives, and conducting six focus groups across California with 46 energy audit participants who had not participated in on-bill financing.
Author(s)
California Center for Sustainable Energy,
Home Performance Resource Center
Publication Date
Organizations or Programs
Energy Upgrade California

This guide shows HVAC contractors how to get started in the home improvement market. It explains the approach of treating a house like a system and provides step-by-step instructions on setting up a home performance contracting business.

Author(s)
State and Local Energy Efficiency Action Network
Publication Date

This report provides information on how access to energy use data can help local governments create policies for benchmarking and disclosing building energy performance for public and private sector buildings.

Author(s)
State and Local Energy Efficiency Action Network
Publication Date

This report provides information on how energy use data access can help state governments lead by example through benchmarking and disclosing results and implement benchmarking policies for the private sector.

Author(s)
National Governors Association
Publication Date
Organizations or Programs
TakeCharge! Challenge,
Enhabit,
New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA)

Many states have adopted policies intended to overcome the barriers that limit the more efficient use of electricity. Yet because such efforts have not addressed the lack of consumer information and motivation to improve efficiency, many opportunities for energy efficiency remain untapped. To help address that problem, states, utilities, and other energy efficiency service providers have begun to develop new approaches to informing and motivating customers based on behavioral economics and psychology research. This report describes three broad strategies that states can use to engage consumers' participation in energy efficiency programs: provide direct consumer information and feedback on energy use, influence social norms; and match messages and messengers to target audiences. Recommendations for actions that governors can take within the context of each of those three strategies are provided.

Author(s)
U.S. Department of Energy
Publication Date
Organizations or Programs
Energy Upgrade California,
EnergySmart Colorado

This peer exchange call summary focused on multifamily information technology tools for project information, marketing, assessment, tracking and evaluation.

Author(s)
Elise Avers, Massachusetts Department of Energy Resources
Publication Date
Organizations or Programs
Mass Save
Presentation that describes the successful elements of the Massachusetts HEAT loan program, including how it is funded and who is eligible.
Author(s)
Mass Save
Publication Date
Organizations or Programs
Mass Save
A comparative list of lenders participating in the Mass Save HEAT Loan Program and the terms and conditions of the loans that they offer.
Author(s)
Mass Save
Publication Date
Organizations or Programs
Mass Save
This plan was jointly developed by gas and electric companies in the state of Massachusetts to set aggressive goals for 2013-2015 through a sustained and integrated statewide energy efficiency effort in accordance with Green Communities Act.
Author(s)
U.S. Department of Energy
Publication Date
Organizations or Programs
New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA),
Energy Upgrade California

This peer exchange call summary focused on adapting and adjusting financing strategies after a program was implemented.

Part III: Keeping it Going: Financing Options for your Clean Energy Programs

Author(s)
Neelam Patel, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency,
Pat McGuckin, The Cadmus Group, Inc.,
Niko Dietsch, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency,
Keith Canfield, Clinton Climate Initiative,
James Christensen and Yvette Rincon, City of Sacramento, California
Publication Date
Organizations or Programs
Sacramento Municipal Utility District (SMUD),
Home Energy Affordability Loan (HEAL)
This webcast (Part III of a three-part series) covers how to choose and implement financing options that meet local needs.
Author(s)
U.S. Department of Energy
Publication Date

This peer exchange call summary focused on the advantages, challenges, creation and management of regional networks.

Author(s)
U.S. Green Building Council
Publication Date

This is the first study to provide statistical evidence that, holding other factors constant, a green label on a single-family home in California provides a market premium compared to a comparable home without the label. The research also indicates that the price premium is influenced by local climate and environmental ideology. To reach these conclusions, researchers conducted an economic analysis of 1.6 million homes sold in California between 2007 and 2012, controlling for other variables known to influence home prices in order to isolate the added value of green home labels.

Author(s)
U.S. Department of Energy
Publication Date
Organizations or Programs
EmPower New York,
New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA),
Long Island Green Homes,
Energy Impact Illinois,
CNT Energy

This peer exchange call summary focused on leveraging effective partnerships for multi-family and low-income outreach and service delivery.

Author(s)
U.S. Department of Energy
Publication Date
Organizations or Programs
Energy Impact Illinois

This peer exchange call summary focused on strategies, challenges and opportunities in working with condominium owners and associations.

Author(s)
U.S. Department of Energy
Publication Date
Organizations or Programs
Energy Impact Illinois,
Local Energy Alliance Program (LEAP)

This peer exchange call summary focused on the strategies, challenges and key interaction points with the real estate sector.

Author(s)
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
Publication Date
Organizations or Programs
Austin Energy,
Bridgeport Housing Authority Energy Efficiency,
City of Pendleton,
OR,
Enhabit,
ClimateSmart Initiative,
Colorado ENERGY STAR Homes,
Connecticut Solar Lease,
Keystone Home Energy Loan Program (HELP),
Long Island Green Homes,
Montana Alternative Energy Revolving Loan Program,
Palm Desert Energy Independence Program,
Sonoma County Energy Independence Program,
Sustainable Connections: Energy Challenge,
Texas LoanSTAR

This U.S. Environmental Protection Agency resource is intended to help state and local governments design finance programs for their jurisdiction. It describes financing program options, key components of these programs, and factors to consider as they make decisions about getting started or updating their programs.

Author(s)
Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory
Publication Date

This report provides state and local policymakers with information on successful approaches to the design and implementation of residential efficiency programs for households ineligible for low-income programs.

Exploring Power Purchase Agreements: The Basics, Part 1

Author(s)
U.S. Department of Energy
Publication Date
Organizations or Programs
Salt Lake County's Energy Smart Loan Program,
Talbot County Project Sunburst
This webcast provides basic information about power purchase agreements.

Financing Programs: RFP & Contract Terms and Conditions

Author(s)
U.S. Department of Energy
Publication Date
Organizations or Programs
SustainableWorks,
RePower Kitsap,
RePower Bainbridge,
RePower Bremerton,
Milwaukee Energy Efficiency (Me2),
City of San Diego Residential Energy Efficiency Loan Program

This webcast discusses financing program RFPs and contract terms and conditions.

Author(s)
Paul Cillo, Energy Efficiency Institute, Inc.
Publication Date
Organizations or Programs
Stratford,
NH,
Public Service of New Hampshire,
Kansas How$mart,
Hawaiian Electric Company

Presentation providing an overview of the PAYS financial model, including information on risks and how to manage them, and successful program examples using the PAYS model.

Author(s)
Chris Lohmann, U.S. Department of Energy
Publication Date
Organizations or Programs
emPowerSBC,
EnergySmart Colorado

Presentation providing an overview of financing programs, a strategy for continuous improvement, tools for program management, a risk management strategy, and common risks associated with financing programs.

Author(s)
State and Local Energy Efficiency Action Network
Publication Date

This report helps policymakers understand how electric and natural gas utilities can achieve greater efficiency by establishing numeric energy savings targets and goals for energy efficiency programs.

Author(s)
U.S. Department of Energy
Publication Date
Organizations or Programs
Energy Upgrade California

This peer exchange call summary focused on developing rebate/incentive programs to generate a demand for sustainable programs and products.

Author(s)
U.S. Department of Energy
Publication Date
Organizations or Programs
Energy Upgrade California

This peer exchange call summary focused on different tenant and resident education programs and how to make them complement larger programs.

Author(s)
World Resources Institute
Publication Date
Organizations or Programs
ClimateSmart Initiative,
Efficiency Vermont,
Sonoma County Energy Independence Program

Outlines five public-private financing mechanism options for energy efficiency upgrades programs, including on-bill financing, PACE financing, and loan loss reserve funds.

Author(s)
U.S. Department of Energy
Publication Date
Organizations or Programs
Cambridge Energy Alliance,
Energize Clackamas County,
Green Homes Challenge
This webinar presented ways various programs use social media tools to enhance and promote their energy programs among their communities.
Author(s)
American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy
Publication Date
Organizations or Programs
Sacramento Municipal Utility District (SMUD),
Enhabit

This report presents results, recommendations, and case studies of energy efficiency financing programs.

Author(s)
National Action Plan for Energy Efficiency
Publication Date
Organizations or Programs
Austin Energy,
New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA)

This report summarizes existing research and discusses current practices, opportunities, and barriers to coordinating energy efficiency and demand response programs.

Author(s)
National Action Plan for Energy Efficiency
Publication Date

This report presents best practices for operating successful portfolio-level efficiency programs, including assessing efficiency potential, cost-effectiveness screening, and developing a portfolio of approaches.

Author(s)
Community Benefits Law Center
Publication Date
Organizations or Programs
Enhabit,
New Jersey Weatherization Assistance Program,
Delaware Weatherization Assistance Program,
Washington State Energy Program,
Community Power Works,
Santa Clara County AB811 Pilot Program

Summary of the standards that support job quality, equitable access and quality assurance in several residential energy efficiency programs from different parts of the country.

Author(s)
U.S. Department of Energy
Publication Date
Organizations or Programs
Cambridge Energy Alliance,
Energy Impact Illinois,
Enhabit,
Energy Upgrade California

This presentation summarizes the market research that was performed by various Better Buildings Neighborhood Program partners.

Author(s)
National Action Plan for Energy Efficiency
Publication Date

This report highlights road-tested strategies, resources, and tools states can use to adopt cost-effective energy efficiency and clean energy programs for their buildings, facilities, and operations.

Author(s)
Massachusetts Clean Energy Center
Publication Date

These training materials include over 30 lesson plans for high school and college students, building and trade professionals, and clean energy employers. Topics include energy efficiency measure installation and best practices in developing train-the-trainer programs for construction trade programs at vocational schools, to programs for undergraduate and graduate students that address the engineering, business, and economics of clean energy.

Financing Program Support for ARRA Recipients - PACE Webinar

Author(s)
U.S. Department of Energy
Publication Date
Organizations or Programs
Energy Upgrade California,
EnergySmart Colorado

Webcast with information on financing structure design for four energy efficiency upgrade programs, including methods used to conduct market evaluations.

Author(s)
National Action Plan for Energy Efficiency
Publication Date

This report discusses the five standard tests used to assess the cost-effectiveness of energy efficiency, how states use the tests, and how the tests can determine the cost-effectiveness of efficiency measures.

Author(s)
National Action Plan for Energy Efficiency
Publication Date

This report describes the effects of utility spending on efficiency programs, how those effects could constitute barriers to investment in energy efficiency, and how policy mechanisms can reduce these barriers.

Author(s)
National Action Plan for Energy Efficiency
Publication Date

This report provides guidance on determining the efficiency potential in a utility footprint, state, or region; evaluating efficiency as a supply-side resource; and developing detailed efficiency program plans.

Author(s)
National Action Plan for Energy Efficiency
Publication Date

This report describes the key issues, best practices, and main process steps for integrating energy efficiency into resource planning on an equal basis with other resources.

Author(s)
APPRISE Inc.
Publication Date

The purpose of this study is to furnish comprehensive information on ratepayer-funded low-income energy programs. This study includes information on and analysis of the energy needs of low-income households, the legal and regulatory framework supporting ratepayer-funded programs, program design options, and the findings from evaluations of program effectiveness.