Chapter 3

Choosing the Right Financing

For Your Energy Efficiency

And Green Projects

With ENERGY STAR®

Neil Zobler

Catalyst Financial Group, Inc.

Katy Hatcher

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency,

ENERGY STAR Program

FINANCING EFFICIENCY PROJECTS TODAY
WITH FUTURE ENERGY SAVINGS

Administrators or managers often think they must postpone the im-
plementation of energy efficiency upgrades because they do not have the
funds in their current budgets. Other barriers may include the lack of
time, personnel, or expertise. As you will see later in this chapter, most or-
ganizations have access to more financial resources than they may think,
and resolving the financial barrier frequently provides solutions to all the
other barriers.
Postponing energy efficiency upgrades for as little as one year can
prove to be an expensive decision. The U.S. Environmental Protection
Agency (EPA) estimates that as much as 30% of the energy consumed in
buildings may be used unnecessarily or inefficiently. The money lost due
to these inefficiencies in just one year frequently totals more than all the
costs of financing energy upgrades over the course of the entire financing
period!
Consider this business logic: The energy efficiency project you’d like
to do is not in your current capital budget; but if the costs of financing
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