WASHINGTON (May 6, 2021) — The Electricity Markets & Policy Group at Berkeley Lab with support from the Department of Energy’s Solar Energy Technologies Office this week released a study on the Connecticut Green Bank and its solar leasing program in partnership with PosiGen.

“We show that this program has successfully reached underserved customers and has reasonable repayment rates given the credit characteristics of the participants,” said the research group at Berkeley Lab. “The Green Bank/PosiGen program reaches many more underserved customers than other PV financing programs in Connecticut.”

The Connecticut Green Bank was established in 2011 and has since deployed over $2.2 billion in capital for clean energy projects across the state. Projects recorded through 2020 show that for every $1 of public funds committed by the Green Bank that an additional $7.50 in private investment occurred in the economy.

This program by the Connecticut Green Bank targets underserved low- and moderate-income households to install solar.  These homeowners would typically be rejected by traditional solar financing.  Since its launch in 2015 the program has seen the installation of 26.4 MW of solar capacity to more than 4000 households.  The Green Bank estimates these individuals saved $500/year on average on their electricity bills from this solar and the included efficiency measures.

Green banks currently exist in more than 14 cities and states across the country and have supported nearly $7 billion in investment in clean energy projects in their states and local communities, and much of this investment has been targeted toward low- and moderate-income households and communities. View a list of projects that have been supported by already existing state and local green banks.