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Zimring, Mark

Publications and source records attributed to Zimring, Mark.

12 records
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
DOE OSTI2014

Selling an Energy Efficiency Loan Portfolio in Oregon: Resale of the Craft3 loan portfolio to Self-Help Credit Union

Under the Clean Energy Works (CEW) program, Craft3 developed a loan product that widened access to financing for homeowners, offered long term funding, and collected repayments through the customer?s utility bill. The program?s success led Craft3 to pursue the sale of the loan portfolio to both mitigate its own risks and replenish funds for lending. This sale breaks new ground for energy efficiency finance and is notable as it was completed even with many novel program design elements. It replenished Craft3?s program capital and uncovered some valuable lessons that may facilitate future transactions. However, the lack of data history and the unproven nature of the loan portfolio meant that Craft3 had to limit the risk of losses to Self-Help, the purchaser of the portfolio. It remains to be seen whether this experience will pave the way for more sales of on-bill energy efficiency loan portfolios. This case study illustrates how certain program design decisions can sometimes both facilitate programmatic objectives and possibly present challenges for the sale of a portfolio of energy efficiency loans.

29 ENERGY PLANNING, POLICY, AND ECONOMY↗
DOE OSTI2013

Implications of Cost Effectiveness Screening Practices in a Low Natural Gas Price Environment: Case Study of a Midwestern Residential Energy Upgrade Program

With the proliferation of statewide energy savings targets and other policies favorable to energy efficiency, savings from utility customer-funded energy efficiency programs could rise to offset much of annual load growth by 2025 (Barbose et al 2013). For these increased savings to occur, however, nearly all of these programs must pass screening for cost effectiveness. Some program administrators and state regulators are finding that conventional analyses, which only consider a narrow set of energy-savings related efficiency program benefits, are now resulting in some natural gas efficiency programs failing their cost-effectiveness criteria in the new low natural gas price environment. Regulators are considering whether to scale back or terminate gas portfolios in at least four states (WA, OR, ID, NM) because of cost-effectiveness concerns. Stakeholders in several regions of the country have asked LBNL to help assess alternatives to reducing the pursuit of energy savings in their regions. We address these requests by producing two working papers: one exploring cost-effectiveness screening policy implications of low to moderate natural gas prices, and a second assessing some of the values that policymakers may take into account in weighing the pros and cons of ending natural gas efficiency programs. In this policy brief, we lay out the challenges that low gas prices pose for cost effectiveness of an electric-gas efficiency program and portfolio. We then quantify options available to regulators and administrators who want to evaluate the tradeoffs among multiple policy objectives. A multi-measure, residential energy upgrade program in the Midwest is used as a lens to explore the implications of common and emerging cost-effectiveness policies in the context of low prices for natural gas. We illustrate the results across a range of cost-effectiveness screening options, including different discount rates, levels of test application, various benefit-cost tests, and the inclusion of non-energy resource benefits.

03 NATURAL GAS↗
DOE OSTI2013

Financing Energy Upgrades for K-12 School Districts: A Guide to Tapping into Funding for Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy Improvements

This guide focuses on clean energy financing options for school administrators, facility managers, and other K-12 school decision makers who are considering investments in high performance school projects. This guide explicitly focuses on comprehensive energy upgrades, those that involve multiple measures and are targeted toward achieving significant energy savings. Successful implementation of clean energy upgrades in schools is a matter of understanding the opportunity, making the commitment, and creatively tapping into available financing. This guide attempts to provide the foundation needed for successful projects in U.S. schools. It walks through the financing options available to K-12 schools and provides case studies of six school districts from around the country.

29 ENERGY PLANNING, POLICY, AND ECONOMY↗
DOE OSTI2012

Aggregating QECB Allocations & Using QECBs to Support the Private Sector: A Case Study on Massachusetts

Qualified Energy Conservation Bonds (QECBs) are federally-subsidized bonds that enable state, tribal, and local government issuers to borrow money to fund a range of energy conservation projects at very attractive interest rates and long terms. While small allocation sizes have deterred some local governments from pursuing issuances, state agencies in Massachusetts have partnered with local governments to aggregate QECBs to support a range of public and private projects. In most states, QECBs have been utilized primarily to fund energy conservation projects for public entities, but Massachusetts has facilitated over $10 million of private activity QECB issuances to support three privately-owned renewable energy projects—with more projects in the pipeline.

29 ENERGY PLANNING, POLICY, AND ECONOMY↗
DOE OSTI2012

Using Qualified Energy Conservation Bonds for Public Building Upgrades. Reducing Energy Bills in the City of Philadelphia

Qualified Energy Conservation Bonds (QECBs) are federally-subsidized bonds that enable state, tribal, and local government issuers to borrow money to fund a range of energy conservation projects, including public building upgrades that reduce energy use by at least 20 percent, at very attractive borrowing rates and long terms. As part of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA), the City of Philadelphia received a $\$$15 million QECB award from the U.S. Department of the Treasury (Treasury). The city leveraged $\$$6.25 million of its QECB allocation to finance half of a $\$$12.6 million initiative to upgrade the energy efficiency of City buildings. The upgrades to four city facilities are expected to deliver over $10 million of net savings, and are a major step towards achieving the city’s goal of reducing government energy consumption by 30 percent by 2015.

29 ENERGY PLANNING, POLICY, AND ECONOMY↗
DOE OSTI2011

Using Qualified Energy Conservation Bonds (QECBs) to Fund a Residential Energy Efficiency Loan Program: Case Study on Saint Louis County, MO

Qualified Energy Conservation Bonds (QECBs) are federally-subsidized debt instruments that enable state, tribal, and local government issuers to borrow money to fund a range of qualified energy conservation projects. QECBs offer issuers very attractive borrowing rates and long terms, and can fund low-interest energy efficiency loans for home and commercial property owners. Saint Louis County, MO recently issued over $\$$10 million of QECBs to finance the Saint Louis County SAVES residential energy efficiency loan program. The county's experience negotiating QECB regulations and restrictions can inform future issuers.

29 ENERGY PLANNING, POLICY, AND ECONOMY↗
DOE OSTI2011

Austin's Home Performance with Energy Star Program: Making a Compelling Offer to a Financial Institution Partner

Launched in 2006, over 8,700 residential energy upgrades have been completed through Austin Energy's Home Performance with Energy Star (HPwES) program. The program's lending partner, Velocity Credit Union (VCU) has originated almost 1,800 loans, totaling approximately $12.5 million. Residential energy efficiency loans are typically small, and expensive to originate and service relative to larger financing products. National lenders have been hesitant to deliver attractive loan products to this small, but growing, residential market. In response, energy efficiency programs have found ways to partner with local and regional banks, credit unions, community development finance institutions (CDFIs) and co-ops to deliver energy efficiency financing to homeowners. VCU's experience with the Austin Energy HPwES program highlights the potential benefits of energy efficiency programs to a lending partner.

29 ENERGY PLANNING, POLICY, AND ECONOMY↗
DOE OSTI2011

NYSERDA's Green Jobs-Green New York Program: Extending Energy Efficiency Financing To Underserved Households

The New York legislature passed the Green Jobs-Green New York (GJGNY) Act in 2009. Administered by the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA), GJGNY programs provide New Yorkers with access to free or low-cost energy assessments,1 energy upgrade services,2 low-cost financing, and training for various 'green-collar' careers. Launched in November 2010, GJGNY's residential initiative is notable for its use of novel underwriting criteria to expand access to energy efficiency financing for households seeking to participate in New York's Home Performance with Energy Star (HPwES) program.3 The GJGNY financing program is a valuable test of whether alternatives to credit scores can be used to responsibly expand credit opportunities for households that do not qualify for traditional lending products and, in doing so, enable more households to make energy efficiency upgrades.

29 ENERGY PLANNING, POLICY, AND ECONOMY↗
DOE OSTI2010

HUD PowerSaver Pilot Loan Program

The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) recently announced the creation of a pilot loan program for home energy improvements. The PowerSaver loan program is a new, energy-focused variant of the Title I Property Improvement Loan Insurance Program (Title I Program) and is planned for introduction in early 2011. The PowerSaver pilot will provide lender insurance for secured and unsecured loans up to $25,000 to single family homeowners. These loans will specifically target residential energy efficiency and renewable energy improvements. HUD estimates the two-year pilot will fund approximately 24,000 loans worth up to $300 million; the program is not capped. The Federal Housing Administration (FHA), HUD's mortgage insurance unit, will provide up to $25 million in grants as incentives to participating lenders. FHA is seeking lenders in communities with existing programs for promoting residential energy upgrades.

29 ENERGY PLANNING, POLICY, AND ECONOMY↗