Abstract

Notwithstanding the expansion of financing options for on-site
renewable energy and energy efficiency improvements, in the United States there remain systemic obstacles to more widespread access to financing. Chief among these are the relatively constrained legal and financial lending parameters inherent in private sector equity-based financing. Private sector equity financing tends to remain available primarily to high net worth or high income homeowners. Glaring in its absence is the inability of low income homeowners to access lending through the credit markets to finance renewable energy and energy efficiency projects.
This Article surveys and explains the financing options available, including traditional home equity loans, third party power purchase agreements, and municipal bond financed special assessment districts, and assesses their legal advantages and disadvantages. This article concludes that municipal bond financing is best structured and positioned to offer maximum access to financing for renewable energy and energy efficiency projects. Specifically, property assessed clean energy programs, which utilize specially geared special assessment districts called energy financing districts, hold the potential to address inequitable distribution of
renewable energy and energy efficiency access.