Pennsylvania Green Energy Loan Fund
The Pennsylvania Green Energy Loan Fund (GELF), created and managed by Reinvestment Fund with funding provided in part by the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection, is now open to finance energy conservation and efficiency improvements to buildings across Pennsylvania.
Eligible Projects & Borrowers
GELF will finance four distinct categories of energy conservation and efficiency improvements:
- Projects involving one or two energy retrofit measures or the replacement of single systems or equipment in an existing, occupied building.
- Projects involving multiple energy retrofit measures in an existing, occupied building.
- Projects involving the gut rehab of an existing building.
- Projects involving new construction of a building or an addition to a building.
To be eligible for GELF financing projects must result in a specified reduction of energy use. The percentage of energy savings, and the baseline for calculating the energy savings, varies depending on the type of project. See Part V of the GELF Program Guidelines and Application Instructions for details about the energy analysis.
GELF can also finance on-site renewable energy systems and on-site combined-heat-and-power systems when they are part of a larger building energy efficiency project.
GELF can provide financing for the following types of properties located in Pennsylvania:
- Commercial properties
- Nonprofit facilities
- Local government buildings
- Multifamily residential buildings, and
- Industrial plants.
Applicants for a GELF loan may include building owners, developers or commercial tenants.
GELF’s Loan Products
All of GELF’s support is in the form of low-interest loans. GELF does not have the ability to provide grants. GELF will offer construction loans, term loans and lease financing.
Loan amounts will generally be between $100,000 and $2,500,000 or more. The term of the loans will be consistent with the life of the improvements, up to 15 years. Longer amortization periods are possible. The interest rate will be set on a case-by-case basis and will depend on several factors, but will generally be in the 3.5-4.5% range. Loans will be secured by the assets being financed or such other collateral as may be required by Reinvestment Fund, including corporate and personal guarantees.
Applying for a GELF Loan
1. Review the key GELF documents
To first determine if GELF is a good fit for your project, please review the following documents:
The GELF brochure. This two pager provides a quick overview of GELF.
The GELF Program Guidelines and Application Instructions. This document provides important information about GELF loan and should be reviewed carefully before a loan application is submitted. Part V of the document addresses the energy analysis and Part VI lists the various regulatory provisions that apply to a GELF loan.
The GELF List of Energy Measures Spreadsheet. This Excel file lists the energy measures that may be eligible for financing with a GELF loan. This form allows Reinvestment Fund to determine the size of the GELF loan since GELF can only finance energy measures (though Reinvestment Fund can often finance non-energy items in a single loan with a blended interest rate).
2. Download, complete and submit the Initial Financing Request Form
The second step in the GELF loan application process is for an applicant to complete and submit a GELF Initial Financing Request Form. This two-page form will provide Reinvestment Fund with key information about the project and the applicant. Reinvestment Fund does not expect a GELF applicant to wait until every aspect of a project has been decided before submitting an application. Applicants are urged to submit an application package sooner rather than later.
After receiving the form, Reinvestment Fund staff will contact the applicant to discuss the project and the loan request. If the applicant finds that GELF is a good fit for its project, and Reinvestment Fund concurs that the project is a good fit for GELF, the applicant will be asked to submit a complete GELF Loan Application form.
3. Download, complete and submit the full GELF Building Energy Loan Application Form along with the required attachments
After discussing your project with Reinvestment Fund and after being instructed to do so by Reinvestment Fund staff, download the full GELF Building Energy Loan Application Form. The GELF Program Guidelines and Application Instructions document provide instructions for completing the form. In addition to completed form, the applicant will need to submit six exhibits and a loan application fee of $250.
4. Underwriting the GELF Loan
Once a GELF application has been received, the fourth step of the process – the underwriting of the loan – begins. The due diligence review of an application has two main tracks – financial and energy. Reinvestment Fund will work with the applicant to collect the information and documents needed to fully evaluate the financial strength of the applicant and the proposed project and to ensure the project meets the applicable energy savings goal.
Key GELF Documents
Please click on the following links to download the important GELF documents:
- GELF brochure
This is a two-page introduction to GELF and the projects and borrowers it can assist. - Program Guidelines and Application Instructions
This document contains the detailed guidelines for GELF and the instructions for completing the GELF Initial Financing Request Form and the GELF Energy Loan Application Form. This document also addresses the energy analysis needed to qualify for a GELF loan and the various regulatory provision that apply to GELF financing. - GELF Initial Finance Request Form
This is a two-page Microsoft Word® form that an interested person should complete and submit to Reinvestment Fund to start the loan application process. - GELF Building Energy Loan Application Form
This is the longer loan application form that should be completed and submitted only after Reinvestment Fund staff instructs an applicant to do so. - List of Energy Measures Spreadsheet
This is a Microsoft Excel® file for listing all of the energy measures in the project and their costs.
There are two procedures manuals that address energy issues in a GELF loan:
- Procedures Manual for Quantifying Energy Savings
This document is a stand-alone version of Part 5 of the Program Guidelines and Application Instructions document. - Procedures Manual for Measurement and Verification
This document provides templates for the utility release forms that GELF borrowers will need to complete before loan closing and provide information about ENERGY STAR’s Portfolio Manager benchmarking tool that borrowers will need to use to report energy consumption.
Once a loan application has been underwritten and approved and prior to loan closing, a GELF borrower will need to complete six affidavits for various regulatory issues:
- Procedures Manual for the Six GELF Affidavits
This document addresses the six affidavits for various regulatory provisions that a GELF borrower will need to complete before loan closing
- GELF Buy American Affidavit
- GELF Davis-Bacon Act Prevailing Wage Affidavit
- GELF Historic Preservation Affidavit
- GELF National Environmental Policy Act Affidavit
- GELF Small Diverse Business Participation Affidavitt
- GELF Waste Management Plan and Affidavit
Select Project Profiles
Please click on the following links to download a pdf of the project profile:
- Coventry House
This is a two-page project profile on Coventry House, located in Elkins Park, PA.
QUESTIONS?
Please send any question you have by email to: PaGELF@reinvestment.com.
This program and its materials are managed and prepared with support and funding of the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection and the US Department of Energy’s State Energy Program. Any opinions, findings, conclusions, or recommendations expressed in in program materials are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of the DEP or DOE.