Green Liberty Bond program wins for “interesting, innovative, and highly creative way to generate revenue for clean energy projects.”

Hartford, CT (June 8, 2022) – The Connecticut Green Bank was honored as a recipient of the 2022 State Leadership in Clean Energy Awards for its Green Liberty Bond program from the Clean Energy States Alliance (CESA), a national nonprofit coalition of public agencies working together to advance clean energy. Since 2009, the biennial Leadership Awards have recognized outstanding state programs and projects that have accelerated the adoption of clean energy technologies. The six winners were chosen by an independent panel of judges, and were evaluated based on leadership, innovation, cost-effectiveness, and replicability.

“States across the country have been taking strong and creative action to expand the use of clean energy,” said CESA Executive Director Warren Leon.  “These award winners highlight the important, innovative, and diverse ways that states are moving clean energy forward.”

Modelled after the War Bonds of the 1940s, Green Liberty Bonds are purchased by individual investors in lower-dollar denominations (the bonds are offered in $1,000 increments), enabling people to directly participate in the green economy and earn a return on their investment. The proceeds of Green Liberty Bonds are invested in projects that confront climate change in Connecticut. According to the judges: “This program is an interesting, innovative, and highly creative way to generate revenue for clean energy projects.”

“We submitted the Green Liberty Bond program for SLICE Award consideration because of the Bonds innovative revenue structure, their accessibility to retail and institutional investors, their replicability, and their overall success in 2020 and 2021,” said Bert Hunter, Chief Investment Officer of the Connecticut Green Bank. “We are honored to be recognized by CESA, and add the Green Liberty Bonds to the list of our programs that have earned this acknowledgement.”

The first issuance of the Green Liberty Bonds in July 2020 sold nearly $17 million, and the second issuance in May 2021 sold nearly $25 million with over $98 million of orders placed from a broad array of investors, including retail investors across the United States. Both bonds are Climate Bond Certified and rated “A+” by S&P. The bonds are backed by a unique revenue stream created by the sale of Solar Home Renewable Energy Credits (SHRECs), which are generated by solar panels on homes.

The Green Bank was also a SLICE Award winner in 2018 for the Solar for All program, in 2016 for the CT Solar Lease Commercial PPA program, and in 2014 for its C-PACE program.

This year’s awards were presented at a reception in Washington, DC on June 7. Other recipients were the California Energy Commission, Maryland Energy Administration, New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA) and New York State Homes and Community Renewal (HCR), Oregon Department of Energy, and the Washington Dept. of Commerce – Energy Office.

The judges who donated their time to assess the programs nominated by state agencies across the country were from World Resources Institute, Energy Foundation, Union of Concerned Scientists, Vote Solar, and the McKnight Foundation. The judges’ participation in this process in no way connotes their respective organizations’ endorsements of these programs. 

In July, CESA will release a report on the State Leadership in Clean Energy Award (SLICE) winners that will include case studies of the programs. The report will be posted on CESA’s website at https://www.cesa.org/projects/state-leadership-in-clean-energy/2022-awards/****. This webpage also contains information and registration links for a webinar series highlighting these exemplary programs. The webinars, which will take place in the summer and fall of 2022, will be free to attend and open to the public.