financing
-
Federal solar tax credits rule out half of Americans
The difference between democratizing clean energy policies and the U.S. system can be illustrated with a look at the federal solar tax credit.
-
The messy side of energy efficiency: finance
If we want to make a dent in household energy efficiency, we will need to move large amounts of private capital.
-
6 ways to solve the ‘renter’s dilemma’ for home energy
If renters aren't staying and landlords aren't paying utility bills, who pays for home-energy improvements?
-
A chat with Dan Kammen about his new job at the World Bank
Last Thursday brought the intriguing news that the World Bank would be bringing on energy expert Dan Kammen to coordinate its efforts on energy efficiency and renewables. Kammen is among the world's leading authorities on those subjects. He runs the Renewable and Appropriate Energy Laboratory at UC-Berkeley, where he is a professor of both energy and public policy, was a coordinating lead author on the IPCC reports, and serves as a frequent advisor to political and NGO leaders. As of Oct. 4, he will be the bank's Chief Technical Specialist for Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency. I called on Friday to ask him about the new gig.
-
Grassroots financing is underwriting a new crop of neighborhood businesses
In the summer of 2008, business partners Jessica Stockton Bagnulo and Rebecca Fitting were making plans to open a bookstore in Brooklyn. Their chosen neighborhood, Fort Greene, was over the moon at the prospect. For years, residents had been clamoring for a bookstore, repeatedly citing it as their top need in surveys conducted by the […]
-
Energy efficiency helps homeowners avoid foreclosure
Energy-efficient homes have significantly lower default and delinquency rates than typical homes, according to an internal analysis conducted for a major financial institution last year. Here’s yet another reason why it makes no sense that Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac have effectively killed Property Assessed Clean Energy (PACE), a financing tool that has helped make […]
-
Do enviros need to reassess their big-picture climate strategy?
Yesterday, I asked seven of Grist’s favorite journos and wonks what policies reformers should focus on this year now that chances for a cap-and-trade bill appear dim. Read their answers. Today, they grapple with a broader question. Our panel: Michael Levi, senior fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations Amanda Little, Grist alumnus and author […]
-
Treasury Department hits PACE homeowners
On Tuesday, the Federal Housing Finance Agency effectively shut down an innovative green financing program called Property Assessed Clean Energy, or PACE, by restricting the ability of homeowners to take out loans to install solar panels and make other energy efficiency improvements. Now the United States Treasury Department has piled on. A new Treasury directive […]
-
With cap-and-trade on the ropes, what’s the next move for greens?
The final fate of the climate/energy bill is uncertain. There are signs Senate Democrats may yet try to advance a price on carbon, perhaps a limited system that only covers utilities, but it remains a heavy political lift. It’s a safe wager cap-and-trade won’t make it over the finish line. So let’s look ahead: What […]