To promote investment in clean energy, the U.S. Department of Energy has awarded $2.2 million to a national team that includes the Environmental Finance Center at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
Other members of the team are the Center for Climate Strategies (team leaders), and Ballard Spahr law firm, both based in Washington, D.C.; Northcross, Hill and Ach law firm in San Rafael, Calif., the University of Delaware Center for Energy and Environmental Policy in Newark, Del.; and the E.P. Systems Group in Covington, Ky. The project began in April and will continue through December 2012.
The group will provide technical assistance services to state and local recipients of 2009 American Recovery and Reinvestment Act funding through the Energy Efficiency and Conservation Block Grant and State Energy Program funds. The UNC center is coordinating this effort on behalf of the nationwide Environmental Finance Center Network. To date, it has worked with the state governments of North Carolina, Hawaii, Missouri and Wisconsin and the municipal governments of Asheville, Charlotte and Greensboro, N.C.; Knoxville, Tenn., and Los Angeles, among others.
Although governments can use existing financing strategies to adopt clean energy projects in local communities, the process can be complex. The Environmental Finance Center helps local governments navigate the unique laws of their area and the requirements of local stakeholders. The center also identifies ways to leverage their efforts through private investment or projects that can recirculate funding, such as revolving loan programs that promote job creation.
Environmental Finance Center contact: Jeff Hughes
