This report is a guide to all customer-facing financing products—products offered by a lender directly to a borrower—used to pay for energy efficiency. Intended for state and local governments that are deciding whether to start a new program, tune up and existing program, or create a Green Bank, it provides information on the full range of financing product options for target participants, the tradeoffs of various products, and potential advantages and disadvantages for different types of customers.

Example credit application from Fayette County Better Buildings.

There are more than 17 million multifamily households nationwide, yet they remain a significant and mostly untapped opportunity for energy efficiency gains. Many cities and states that have embraced energy retrofitting as a job creator and boon to both the environment and economy have yet to address potential savings in multifamily properties, primarily because of obstacles not faced by single family and commercial properties. This paper discusses two barriers -- a lack of information and financing -- that stand in the way of multifamily energy retrofits.

Quick summaries of strategies various programs have used to improve the efficiency of delivering efficiency.

Presentation describing AFC First's (a lender's) aggressive underwriting and smart product delivery as part of the Keystone HELP program.

This peer exchange call summary focused on the challenges and strategies for marketing commercial financial products and attracting financial institutions.

Case study highlighting Philadelphia's use of QECBs to finance energy efficiency upgrades for City buildings.

This report describes different approaches to energy efficiency finance taken by utilities.

Outlines Philadelphia's EnergyWorks program's use of low-interest loans to incentivize homeowners by tying the interest rate to the number of energy efficiency measures incorporated into the home.

This webcast presents Pennsylvania's Keystone HELP program as a case study for successful public/private partnerships for consumer energy efficiency financing.