NV Energy Foundation a Catalyst for Nevada Clean Energy Fund Growth
Early investment can yield big results for Nevada
April 3, 2023
(RENO, Nev.) – The Nevada Clean Energy Fund (NCEF) celebrates a $25,000 grant from the NV Energy Foundation that will help NCEF build its capacity to achieve its mission. NCEF supports a thriving, affordable, and accessible clean energy economy by providing financial and technical resources to Nevadans. NCEF is the state’s nonprofit green bank, which is an institutional model that has been implemented in over a dozen US states to accelerate clean energy growth and tackle climate change, with a particular emphasis on making clean energy more accessible to underserved communities.
“NV Energy Foundation’s investment in the Nevada Clean Energy Fund (NCEF) has tremendous potential to help underserved communities in Nevada access clean energy opportunities, reduce their energy costs and live in a healthy environment and climate,” said Tony Sanchez, executive vice president of business development and external relations. “By prioritizing underserved populations, such as low- and moderate-income communities and People of Color, this partnership furthers our shared vision that all households, regardless of income, have reliable and affordable energy options.”
As access to capital becomes an increasing challenge for many amid surging interest rates, the need for entities like NCEF becomes even more critical. This nonprofit organization that was launched in January 2022 has a big vision: bring hundreds of millions of federal funds into the state and put them to work deploying clean energy solutions for Nevadans.
“This grant from the NV Energy Foundation provides critical funding to NCEF in the early stages of the nonprofit’s life,” said Kirsten Stasio, CEO of the Nevada Clean Energy Fund. “Given the scale of federal clean energy funds becoming available for the work that we do, the support we receive today will be catalytic in enabling us to bring as much of those federal funds as possible into the state and put them to work benefiting Nevada’s communities.”
The Inflation Reduction Act dedicated $27 billion in federal funds for entities like NCEF. These funds will be administered as competitive grants by the US Environmental Protection Agency (US EPA). NCEF is focused on developing a competitive strategy for accessing these funds and capitalizing its programs.
NCEF’s programs are targeted at making clean energy financing more accessible to homeowners, the multi-family housing sector, small businesses, non-profits, schools, local governments, and rural communities. Clean energy projects supported under NCEF’s programs include energy efficiency, weatherization, clean vehicles, building electrification, and renewable energy. Financing can be in the form of low-interest loans, credit enhancements, or other types of investments, allowing NCEF to reinvest proceeds back into the community over time to achieve impact at scale.
NV Energy maintains the NV Energy Foundation, a 501c3, to support its philanthropic efforts. The NV Energy Foundation is not funded by customers.
About the Nevada Clean Energy Fund
The Nevada Clean Energy Fund (NCEF) is a nonprofit organization that was established by state legislation in 2017 as Nevada’s green bank. Green banks have been implemented in over a dozen US states to accelerate clean energy growth and tackle climate change, with a particular focus on underserved communities. Green banks provide financing and technical assistance for clean energy projects such as energy efficiency, clean vehicles, building electrification, and renewable energy resources. NCEF’s programs are targeted at increasing access to clean energy capital for homeowners, multi-family housing communities, local businesses, nonprofits, schools, Tribal communities, and rural areas.
About the NV Energy Foundation
NV Energy maintains the NV Energy Foundation, a 501c3, to support its philanthropic efforts. Through direct grants, scholarships and employee grant programs, the NV Energy Foundation actively supports improvements in the quality of life in NV Energy’s service territories. Information about the NV Energy Foundation is available at nvenergy.com/foundation.