Coalition for Green Capital announces first network investment in Spruce Root

Washington, D.C. — The Coalition for Green Capital (CGC) announced its first network investment. The Coalition will commit a line of credit to Spruce Root, a certified Native community development financial institution (CDFI) based in Southeast Alaska, to advance the deployment of clean energy and lower energy costs throughout Tribal communities.

The Coalition also called for communities to accelerate their net zero plans. Successful proposals will demonstrate how they can implement their plans for a faster, cheaper and more inclusive manner with our support.

“We’re excited to launch this new phase of the American Green Bank Consortium to deliver on the promise of establishing at least one self-sufficient green bank in every state,” CGC Chief Network Officer Stephen Brown said. “Our National Clean Investment Fund award now offers us the tools we need to eliminate green financing deserts and ensure that every community has access to the resources needed to impactfully reduce emissions while facilitating economic development.”

Spruce Root is the first to sign a new network partner agreement and join the consortium. This marks the first step in building the Coalition’s national network of self-sustaining green lenders in every state and meeting its commitment to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

“This historic partnership will empower our region to break barriers to access clean energy, particularly in Indigenous communities,” said Spruce Root CDFI Director Michael Ching. “Alaskans currently bear the second-highest electricity costs in the nation. For too long, clean energy solutions remained out of reach for many. Today, that changes. With this funding and technical assistance, we can provide low-interest support to make clean energy a viable reality. Spruce Root is honored to be an Alaskan ambassador for renewable energy solutions.”

In its partnership, The Coalition and Spruce Root have signed a Memorandum of Understanding outlining CGC’s intent to provide Spruce Root with up to $10 million in a committed line of credit to facilitate clean energy projects such as the transition from high-emission diesel generators and oil heating to energy-efficient, zero-emission electric heat pumps in Tribal communities.

This effort builds on a previous $2.5 million grant from the Department of Energy that supported heat pump adoption throughout Prince of Wales Island in Alaska, delivering cost savings to these communities, while reducing emissions.

In addition to the Coalition’s first network investment, CGC launched its Community Net Zero Accelerator, calling on communities with existing net-zero and clean energy transition plans to accelerate implementation. This will enable faster, cheaper, and more inclusive efforts to decarbonize whole communities, meet national climate goals, and avoid climate catastrophe.

The Coalition will issue an official call for proposals in December 2024 and will consider communities with populations between 50-600,000 people who are taking a “whole community approach” that engages community organizations, green lenders in the American Green Bank Consortium, labor, businesses, utilities and renewable energy developers. Selected proposals will receive support through a combination of investments and up to $90 million in grants, the initiative will deploy CGC’s toolkit of loans, credit enhancements, and securitizations, to support clean energy adoption, energy storage, public transportation electrification, new building codes and workforce training.

The EPA awarded the Coalition $5 billion in seed funding from the National Clean Investment Fund (NCIF) to invest in qualified projects and establish a national network of self-sustaining green lenders, including green banks, CDFIs, and Community Development Credit Unions, to accelerate the transition from carbon to clean.

For more information, contact the Coalition for Green Capital at press@coalitionforgreencapital.com

About Coalition for Green Capital: The Coalition for Green Capital (CGC), doing business as the American Green Bank Consortium, is a 501(c)(3) chartered specifically to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and other forms of air pollution and redress climate and energy-related environmental injustice. Green banks are a proven finance model that uses public and philanthropic funds to mobilize private investment in renewable energy, energy efficiency, and other decarbonization technologies. For over a decade, the Coalition for Green Capital has led the Green Bank movement, working at the federal, state, and local levels in the U.S. and countries around the world. For more information, visit: https://coalitionforgreencapital.com.

About Spruce Root: Spruce Root is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit Native Community Development Financial Institution (CDFI). Our services for small businesses include coaching, training, and lending for startup enterprises, working capital, business expansion, leasehold improvements and other business capital needs. We are a driver of a regenerative economy across Southeast Alaska so communities can forge futures grounded in this uniquely Indigenous place.

For more information about Spruce Root, go to spruceroot.org.

Spruce Root is an equal opportunity provider. Spruce Root does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, national origin, sex, age or disability.