ARRA We There Yet - ACEEE.pdfVIP

ARRA We There Yet? Allison Asplin, Cadmus ABSTRACT The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA) offered a rare opportunity to test new energy-efficiency financing models. This paper compares three ARRA- funded financing projects from across the United States and highlights the lessons that current and future programs can draw from them. The three programs reviewed here, which competed for and received ARRA funds to pilot energy-efficiency financing programs, are the Southeast Energy Efficiency Alliance WISE Program, the Vermont NeighborWorks H.E.A.T Squad Program, and the Windsor Efficiency PAYS® Program. Each of the programs faced its own challenges, and all three faced certain shared challenges. Each also found a degree of success from which other programs can learn useful lessons. Among other things, the SEEA WISE Program offers insights into program sustainability; the Vermont NeighborWorks Program provides a model for successful marketing; and the Windsor Efficiency PAYS Program illustrates how program design can help reach the elusive residential renter population. As a group, the programs succeeded when they built on existing structures and resources: existing energy-efficiency programs, community identities and resources, and lending practices. They struggled when they tried, by choice or by necessity, to create things entirely new. Current and future financing programs should carefully consider the lessons of these patterns of success and struggle. Introduction The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA) offered a rare opportunity to test new energy-efficiency financing models. Utility customers, both residents and businesses, often cite lack of capital as the primary obstacle to completing energy-effici