MassDevelopment Expands “Green Loan” Program to All Businesses, Nonprofits in Massachusetts

November 29, 2010

Contact:
Kelsey Abbruzzese, MassDevelopment, 617-330-2086 & 617-448-9077

MassDevelopment has broadened access to its new Green Loan Program – which allows organizations to use energy-efficiency rebates from public utilities to install energy-saving projects – to all for-profit businesses and nonprofit organizations in the Commonwealth. The program is designed for mid-sized organizations that are too large to qualify for public utility financing and not large enough to employ tax-exempt financing in a cost-effective manner.

“The Green Loan Program fills a gap for organizations in the Commonwealth that hope to become more energy-efficient but haven’t been able to access efficient financing,” said MassDevelopment President and CEO Robert L. Culver. “Expanding this program to all for-profit and nonprofit businesses makes both environmental and economic sense for Massachusetts.”

Projects that qualify for utility-sponsored energy-efficiency programs can receive loans of up to $500,000 to finance the difference between project costs and the subsidies or rebates from the utility. The Massachusetts Health and Educational Facilities Authority (HEFA) approved the Green Loan Program at its March 2010 Board of Directors meeting, which limited the program to nonprofit members of Power Options, a now free-standing organization created by HEFA to help Massachusetts nonprofits and public entities purchase natural gas and electricity at reduced prices. MassDevelopment and HEFA merged on October 1, 2010.

MassDevelopment, the state’s finance and development authority, works with businesses, financial institutions, and communities to stimulate economic growth across the Commonwealth. During FY2009, MassDevelopment financed or managed 229 projects statewide representing the investment of nearly $1.2 billion in the Massachusetts economy.