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California Alternative Energy and Advanced Transportation Financing Authority

Proposed Regulations for Small Business Program

CAEATFA held a public workshop at 10:00 AM PDT on October 9th, 2018, to propose regulations for the off-bill, Small Business financing program and a public comment period ran through October 19th. The proposed regulations will be shared with the CAEATFA Board for approval at the November 13, 2018 board meeting. A copy of the regulations, the slide presentation describing the program, a video of the workshop, and the corresponding transcript are available:

The proposed approach for the Small Business program includes these features:

  • Energy saving measures may qualify through a broadly inclusive list, professional certification, or utility rebate and incentive programs, allowing projects to be simple or highly customized.
  • Participating finance companies receive a credit enhancement in the form of a loss reserve contribution of 20% of the first $50,000 of financing and 5% of the next $950,000 of financing, allowing the program to scale from very small to very large projects.
  • A variety of financing products are supported: loans, leases, equipment financing agreements, service agreements and savings-based payment agreements.
  • Both building owners and building tenants may access financing.
  • A Project Developer role allows participation by entities which provide technical assistance and project management without engaging in installation.

    • Background

    CAEATFA held public workshops seeking input on the proposed program design for the Small Business pilot program on April 19, 2018 and October 9, 2018. As a result of feedback from workshop participants and subsequent conversations with interested parties, CAEATFA implemented numerous changes to the program. The most significant are as follows:

    • A Project Developer role has been added to allow program participation by entities which provide energy planning and technical advice but do not engage in installation. Any entity with a contract to implement an IOU/REN/CCA energy efficiency program automatically qualifies as a Project Developer.
    • Eligible financing agreement definitions have been expanded to specify both service agreements and savings-based payment agreements.
    • The maximum allowable financing agreement has been increased to $5 million.
    • The loss reserve contribution methodology has been changed such that a 20% contribution will be made on the first $50,000 of financing and a 5% contribution will be made on any additional financing up to $1,000,000.
    • Underwriting requirements for customers were simplified and streamlined.
    • Measures were added to the list of pre-approved Eligible Savings Measures.
    • The ability for customers to self-install select measures without utilizing a contractor was added.

    Additional information on the Small Business Program can be found at gogreenfinancing.com/smallbusiness.

    April 19, 2018 Workshop Materials