Participating Community Lenders will provide loans and investments to low carbon projects and businesses in their service area, to include:

• Businesses in the clean energy sector such as solar installers, battery manufacturers, building technology / energy efficiency companies, clean energy generation, environmental evaluation and monitoring, …
• Built environment projects that include energy efficiency features and renewable energy generation for commercial and industrial buildings, schools, community facilities (including health facilities), affordable housing, and other low carbon emission buildings.
• Distributed energy generation and storage to include community solar generation, residential rooftop solar, battery storage and other zero emission projects such as wind and geothermal.
• Clean transportation projects such as: business fleet electrification; EV charging infrastructure; zero emission school buses, public van pools and ride sharing, and other zero emission transportation projects suitable for rural communities.

Technical Assistance Hubs will be created for the provision of specialized services to projects and participating communities, helping to increase the demand for – and accelerate the impact of – Green Bank financings.  These Hubs will provide specialized services for the transaction types described above, as well as needed workforce development supports to meet the demand for new energy economy jobs, and community engagement activities to ensure financed projects address local priorities.   Service providers may include the above financing partners, as appropriate, as well as Community Development Corporations, non-profit development organizations, regional educational institutions (universities and community colleges), for profit and non-profit national technical assistance providers (examples: US Green Building Council, professional accounting firms, …), public sector technical assistance providers (MEP programs, …), Local Development Districts, unions (and related apprenticeship programming), utilities including Rural Electric Coops and others.

Technical Assistance partners will be contracted to provide support in their respective target market, which may be defined by geography or the type of assistance requested.

Each financing partner will receive a technical assistance award of 10% of their capitalization financing to support these activities.  It is anticipated that over 80 technical assistance partners will be contracted to provide services, which may include:

Development Services

• Business plan / business case development.
• Market studies / market research.
• Engineering and Design
• Financial structuring / modeling, pro forma preparation.
• Access to new IRA energy tax credits.
• Clean energy / energy efficiency grant applications.
• Other activities tbd.

Community Services

• Workforce Development – workforce training and job readiness.
• Community Engagement activities – ensuring the participation of low income communities in project development, identification, and prioritization.
• Other activities tbd.

Financial products will be designed to accelerate the financing of low carbon projects in underserved rural communities and may include:

• Debt – senior and subordinate
• Forgivable debt
• Unsecured tax credit bridge financing
• New Markets Tax Credit leverage debt
• On-bill financing credit facilities
• Aggregation / Warehousing facilities – for purchase of smaller credits with potential resale to secondary market
• Refinancing products
• Structured Finance Solutions
• Lease financing
• Equity Investments
• Securitization / packaging for secondary market and perm financing access – Loan Loss Reserves, interest rate buy-downs.

The Green Bank for Rural America will target the 13-state region of Appalachia, Coal and Power Plant Communities nationally, and other underserved rural areas such as Persistent Poverty Counties, NMTC Low Income Communities, Appalachian Regional Commission Distressed Counties, and other areas.  Communities which receive investment from EPA GGRF funding will meet the Low-Income and Disadvantaged Communities definitions as presented in the EPA GGRF program, which are identified by census tract in the Climate and Economic Justice Screening Tool (CEJST) prepared by the White House Council on Environmental Quality.

The Green Bank will disburse Capitalization Funding and Technical Assistance Awards to over 100 participating CDFIs and other public and non-profit loan funds, bringing new investment to target communities, creating quality jobs and businesses that support sustainable growth.  Capitalization Funding will be provided to participating US Treasury CDFIs, EDA RLFs, USDA IRPs, and other public and non-profit loan and investment funds.

Technical Assistance Hubs will be created for the provision of specialized services to projects and participating communities, helping to increase the demand for – and accelerate the impact of – Green Bank financings.  These Hubs will provide specialized services for priority transaction types, as well as needed workforce development programs to meet the demand for new energy economy jobs in local communities, and community engagement activities to ensure financed projects address local priorities.   Technical Assistance partners will be contracted to provide support in their respective target market, which may be defined by geography or the type of assistance requested.

Deal flow will be sourced from a variety of local, regional, and national partners.  ACC has already received nearly 150 Letters of Interest and Support from lenders and communities in over 30 states demonstrating strong demand for investment and support services.  Deal flow partners include:

• Financing Partners receiving capitalization funding – participating CDFIs, non-profit and public loan funds, non-profit Impact Funds, credit unions, …
• For Profit Financing Partners – banks, NMTC CDEs, Opportunity Zone Funds, Angel Investors, …
• Community Partners – community-based organizations, Community Development Corporations, non-profit economic development organizations, local government, Local Development Districts, educational institutions, unions, …
• State and Federal Partners – USDA Rural Development, State Energy Offices, Appalachian Regional Commission …
• Utilities – Rural Electric Coops, TVA, Investor-Owned Utilities, …

The Green Bank for Rural America will operate as a wholly-owned subsidiary of ACC and will utilize a Steering Committee to provide guidance and oversight.  The Green Bank will oversee and evaluate all financing and technical assistance activities and ensure activities prioritize community engagement.  The Green Bank will track economic development impacts and carbon avoidance resulting from investments, will review activities for legal and grant compliance, and undertake financial and risk management assessment.

The Steering Committee for this effort is composed of development finance organizations with a track record of high impact investments in low-wealth rural communities.  This team has deep knowledge of community needs and financing opportunities, supporting thousands of transactions in the targeted rural communities, as well as exceptional expertise at structuring and managing development finance portfolios exceeding $5 billion.  The Bank’s leadership includes:

• Appalachian Community Capital (ACC) – a regional CDFI intermediary with 34 members that manage over $2 billion in assets targeting Appalachia communities in 13 states and 423 counties.
• Grow America (formerly National Development Council) – provides technical know-how and capital to support community and economic investment, having participated in financing over $6 billion in community facilities, housing, small business lending, and related transactions in more than 500 communities.
• The National Trust for Historic Preservation and its subsidiaries Main Street America (MSA) and National Trust Community Investment Corporation (NTCIC) work in over 1,500 communities to transform neighborhoods and revitalize local economies.  The affiliate NTCIC has invested over $2 billion in development transactions using New Markets Tax Credits, Historic Tax Credits, and energy Investment Tax Credits, supporting over $8 billion in project activity.
• Coastal Enterprises Inc (CEI Inc.)  – one of the nation’s leading rural CDFIs, CEI Inc and affiliates create good jobs and support environmentally sustainable development, deploying $1.5 billion in business loans, New Markets Tax Credit investments, Opportunity Zone Investment, and other financial products.
• Coalfield Development Corp – The Green Bank’s lead workforce development partner. A nationally recognized leader in workforce development located in the heart of Appalachian coal country.  For over a decade Coalfield has worked with business, educational partners, and unions to train employees for quality job opportunities, including those in the new energy economy.  Coalfield participants in the President’s Interagency Working Group for Coal and Energy Communities.
• WV Community Development Hub – The Green Bank’s lead community engagement partner, works alongside communities to support inclusive economic development. The Hub’s model is embedded in the National Association of Counties program for Building Resilient Economies in Coal Communities, and the Hub participates in the President’s Interagency Working Group for Coal and Energy Communities.