Self-Help Credit Union is offering $15 million in low-interest loans for energy-efficiency projects in Charlotte and other cities. Over 50 economic developers, energy professionals and others attended the Feb. 16 launch of the program in Charlotte.
The event was as part of the North Carolina Sustainable Energy Association's Clean Energy Connections education series. NCSEA's Communications & Government Affairs Specialist, Amneris Solano, spoke with Melissa Malkin-Weber, Green Initiatives Manager at Self-Help Credit Union, about the program.
More businesses are seeing the benefits of adopting energy efficient practices. Has that lead to the need for this kind of loan program?
The Self-Help Energy Loan Fund is exciting because it opens the door to energy efficiency to those borrowers who might have not been considering it at all. For instance, where a small-business is borrowing for working capital, we can help them improve their efficiency by upgrading their old T12 lights or inefficient HVAC.
Why should building owners take advantage of this program?
There are still a lot of disincentives that prevent even very savvy property managers from making energy investments in their buildings. For instance, they may have scoped out great projects with very strong return on investment over time, but it’s hard to make that investment when there’s economic uncertainty. Small businesses face the additional disincentive that they may not have staff with enough bandwidth and resources to identify the best energy investments. We hope that the reduced-cost financing will encourage building owners to take a second look at their energy investment opportunities.
How does this loan program allow businesses to meet their energy savings goals?
One of our key goals is to reduce the cost barrier to implementation. Because of Bank of America’s funding and leadership, we will be able to offer a 1.5 percent interest rate discount through the Self-Help Energy Loan Fund.
Through this program borrowers are encouraged do the most cost effective investments. Can you tell us a more about those?
We want borrowers to make sure to invest in options that have the best return on investment. To evaluate those options, it’s really helpful to have a systematic assessment. For small or disadvantaged businesses we can provide technical assistance for assessing energy opportunities. We’ve seen building owners who invest in sophisticated HVAC controls systems for buildings that still have inefficient light fixtures. They are both great projects, but the lights have a much faster return on investment.
Why is being able to offer such a loan package important to Self-Help?
We know that energy efficiency can strengthen the businesses of our members and borrowers by reducing their costs. The Energy Loan Fund enables us to deliver affordable capital to borrowers that might not otherwise make these very beneficial investments. When you combine this with environmental benefits and the tremendous jobs growth that has been achieved in the renewable energy and energy efficiency industries, you see a winning proposition that is truly sustainable.
Is there anything else you’d like to share?
Self-Help’s mission is to create and protect ownership and economic opportunity for all. This is a mission with many facets. We are keenly aware of the link between reducing fossil fuel energy use and the opportunity to reduce asthma and heart disease, especially within low-income neighborhoods. We are also keenly aware that rising sea levels attributable to global warming are a risk to the North Carolina economy. When we use less fossil energy, we become part of the solution to that threat.
Read the Charlotte Observer's article about the event here. To see pictures for the launch, visit NCSEA on Flickr.
If you are a NCSEA member and would like to discuss your success story, please contact Amneris Solano at (919) 832-7601 Ext. 117 or amneris@energync.org.
