EDF’s New Investor Network Aims to Boost Private Investment in Energy Efficiency

(NEW YORK – November 12, 2015) Buildings use nearly 40 percent of all energy in the U.S., so improving their efficiency is key to a clean energy future. Because increasing deal flow in the energy efficiency market has been a challenge, Environmental Defense Funds’ (EDF) Investor Confidence Project (ICP) announced today the launch of its Investor Network to help connect investors in search of quality energy efficiency projects with project developers of buildings in need of capital. Offering investors a common language to compare project risks and savings makes projects simpler, decisions easier, and project performance more reliable.

“The Investor Confidence Project helps create a pipeline of investor-ready projects to meet growing demand within the building sector” said Andy Darrell, EDF’s Chief of Strategy, Global Energy & Finance. “We are thrilled to see these investors looking for ways to deploy capital into energy efficiency and look forward to helping close the gap between opportunity and a robust marketplace of smart investments.”

EDF’s Investor Confidence Project creates certified energy efficiency projects that make investing in what are often complex projects easy for building owners and investors alike. The new Investor Network was developed to help address the needs of investors looking for standardized projects that reduce the time, risk, and costs involved in funding energy efficiency projects. Reviewed by an independent engineer, each ICP-certified – or Investor Ready Energy Efficiency™ – project has provided consistent documentation for each step in the process. By certifying projects against an industry standard, ICP reduces transaction costs and increases confidence in savings in order to help engage private capital and scale up energy efficiency investments globally.

Members of the Investor Network make up around $1B in financing for energy efficiency projects collectively and range from leading providers of debt and equity to finance projects, to insurance providers and energy services companies. Members include Bluepath Finance, CleanFund, Commercial PACE Capital, Energi, Hartford Steam Boiler, HUB International, Joule Assets, M-core Credit Corporation, Metrus Energy, Noesis, Petros PACE Finance, ReNewAll LLC, Renew Financial, and Spark Fund.

A majority of Investor Network members are demonstrating the value ICP provides by offering incentives such as accelerated underwriting, reduced transaction fees, and preferable terms for Investor Ready Energy Efficiency™ projects.  Members actively voicing their support for the Investor Confidence Projects and its Investor Network include:

“As an investor in Property Assessed Clean Energy, or PACE, energy efficiency deals, the most critical factor we’re looking for is confidence in savings and returns – of which the Investor Confidence Project is vital to building,” said John Kinney, Founder and Chairman of CleanFund.

MikeBahr, Co-Founder & Managing Partner of ReNewAll, who is both a project developer and investor, summed up their support for ICP by saying, “we believe ICP has the potential to benefit the entire energy efficiency ecosystem. The ICP standards provide a common roadmap for project development and the ICP credentialing system ensures that energy efficiency projects will be developed consistently. The net results are projects that investors, programs, and building owners can depend upon to perform as designed.” 

Mansoor Ghori, Managing Director of Petros Partners, who is an active Property Assessed Clean Energy (PACE) investor, says “ICP can play a crucial role in enabling deal flow in developing energy efficiency markets, such as the PACE market here in Texas. ICP’s standards-based approach facilitates the underwriting of projects, which is why Petros is offering expedited underwriting for Investor Ready Energy Efficiency™ projects.”

Interested investors can find more details on ICP’s website here. To get in touch with any of the Investor Confidence Project’s Investor Network members about funding for energy efficiency projects, contact info@eeperformance.org.