Municipalities Save through Clean Energy Projects: Efficient Buildings Fund Finances $10.4M in Projects, Supports 170 Jobs

Rhode Island Infrastructure Bank recently announced the second round of Efficient Buildings Fund (EBF) financing. The Infrastructure Bank will finance $10.4 million in energy efficiency and renewable energy projects in five Rhode Island communities, creating or supporting 170 jobs.

Projects were approved in the following communities:

City/Town	Loan Amount	Projects
Cumberland	$1,343,000	Streetlight retrofits, Highway Division Building, Town Hall and Library – lighting improvements and conversion to LEDs, hot water heater, boiler and AC replacements, pipe insulation and programmable thermostats
East Providence	$2,370,000	Streetlight retrofits, Public Works Facility, Senior Center and Library – LED light retrofits, boiler retrofits, thermostats, motors and drives, hot water heater replacements
Hopkinton	$221,000	Citywide LED streetlight retrofit
Warren	$504,000	Community Center, Public Safety Building and Town Hall – LED lighting and controls, building shell insulation, energy management systems, burner and boiler replacements, motors and drives
West Warwick	$5,957,000	Wind turbine providing electricity for public buildings

Combined, the energy efficiency projects are projected to produce energy savings greater than 25%, and annual energy and maintenance cost savings of over $1 million. The savings achieved by the four energy efficiency transactions is equivalent to the average annual energy consumption of 321 Rhode Island homes. In addition, the five communities will realize approximately $10 million in net cash flow savings over the useful life of the improvements. CO2 emissions will be reduced by an amount equal to the emissions from over 7 million miles driven by the average passenger car annually.

The Efficient Buildings Fund is a financing program designed to provide attractive financing to public entities for projects that promote energy efficiency and clean energy. The program is administered in partnership between RIIB and the Rhode Island Office of Energy Resources. This is the second EBF transaction since the program’s introduction in 2015. To date, EBF has financed $27.6 million in energy efficiency and renewable energy projects in 10 Rhode Island communities.