Nonprofit startup Sustain Energy Finance aims to offer low-interest loans for renewable and efficiency projects.
Enter Sustain Energy Finance. The nascent nonprofit was recently incorporated with the hope of tapping millions of federal dollars intended to build out a clean energy system across the country. Clean energy projects “can be challenging to finance through traditional mechanisms,” said Shawna Gabriela Cuan, an energy consultant who is the chief lending officer for Sustain Energy Finance. Cuan said the long timelines for project payback make them hard to finance through traditional banks.
The federal money doesn’t come to individual green banks. Instead, it will go to fewer than 10 national nonprofit entities, so Cuan’s group is currently negotiating to be part of a larger group. “We’ve been working closely with green banks around the country,” said Cuan, who previously worked at the Utah Office of Energy Development.a Park City resident who has a long history in finance and is president and chief investment strategist for Austin Atlantic Asset Management Co.
Cuan gave one example of where funding could go: net-zero housing. With housing prices and demand rocketing up, the added costs of clean energy can get squeezed out, even though they save money over the life of the building. “More affordable can be less healthy and safe,” she said.