by Brianna Crandall — January 25, 2017 — The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) is introducing a new Web-based Financing Navigator tool to help private and public sector organizations discover financing solutions for energy efficiency projects that meet their unique needs. Limited financing options are often cited as a major barrier to investing in energy-efficient systems, notes DOE.
Through the Better Buildings Financing Navigator, building owners, facilities and energy managers and other decision-makers can connect with financiers, including banks and financial institutions, to pursue energy-saving measures through the financing community’s innovative models and mechanisms.
The Financing Navigator helps users identify relevant financing options in a rapidly expanding marketplace. Users can search by topic, or answer a few simple questions to get tailored results, and they can easily navigate white papers, technical research, and advice collected from the industry to get the information they need.
The new tool allows users to connect to the larger Better Buildings Challenge Financial Allies community, including banks and lenders that are committed to bold financial investments in energy efficiency and are actively pursuing new opportunities to finance projects. Through the Better Buildings Challenge, 30 of these organizations are partnering with the Energy Department to commit $5.4 billion in financing for energy-saving projects, as well as sharing successful strategies that will maximize efficiency over the next decade.
The Financing Navigator covers efficiency projects of all sizes in all non-residential building types. It was developed in consultation with industry leaders including the American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy, Environmental Defense Fund, Metrus Energy, the Institute for Market Transformation, and dozens of other contributors.
The Better Buildings Initiative encourages collaboration between public and private sector organizations across the country to share and replicate successful strategies with the overarching goal of making commercial, public, industrial, and residential buildings 20% more energy efficient over the next decade. This means saving billions of dollars on energy bills, while accelerating America’s investments in energy infrastructure and creating thousands of jobs, notes DOE.
More than 310 organizations are partnering with the Energy Department to achieve 20% portfolio-wide energy savings and share successful strategies that maximize efficiency over the next decade. Across the country, partners have shared energy data for more than 34,000 properties and are reporting energy savings of 20% or more at 5,500 properties, and 10% or more at 12,600 properties.
