Learn about public sector financing options

Find out about financing options that are available to public sector organizations, such as K-12 schools, colleges and universities, local and state governments, and federal agencies.

About energy performance contracts and tax-exempt lease purchase agreements

Financing Energy Efficiency Projects – This article introduces energy performance contracts and the corresponding benefits of using tax-exempt lease-purchase agreements as the underlying financing vehicle. It explains how to use the energy inefficiencies buried in your current operating budget to pay for energy-saving equipment.

Finding Money for Your Energy Efficiency Projects – This paper describes how performance contracts and tax-exempt lease-purchase agreements may offer you a practical solution when no money is available in the current budget for further improvements. It equips you to persuade the decision-makers within your school district, city, county, community college, university, or state that implementing energy efficiency upgrades is a good business decision and should be done as soon as possible.

Easy Access to Energy Improvement Funds in the Public Sector – This 2-page primer provides an overview of two of the most popular mechanisms for financing energy efficiency projects in the public sector: performance contracts and tax-exempt lease-purchase agreements. Both mechanisms provide effective alternatives to traditional debt financing, and both may allow you to pay for energy efficiency upgrades by using money that is already set aside in your utility operating budget — allowing you to draw on dollars saved from future energy bills to pay for new, energy-efficient equipment and projects today.

Real-world financing case study

Miami-Dade Financing Case Study – This profile showcases how one of the nation’s largest school districts improves its facilities and maximizes energy savings by using an existing tax-exempt master lease program to pay for a guaranteed savings performance contract.