Green Bank Coalition Taps Spruce Root for First Network Investment

Spruce Root, a community development financial institution in Southeast, is the first network investment chosen by the Coalition for Green Capital (CGC). By committing to a line of credit, CGC aims to help Spruce Root advance the deployment of clean energy and lower energy costs throughout Native communities.

Public Funds Mobilize Private Capital

For more than a decade, CGC has led the Green Bank movement as the American Green Bank Consortium, a nonprofit chartered to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and other forms of air pollution and redress climate and energy-related environmental injustice. Green banks are a finance model that uses public and philanthropic funds to mobilize private investment in renewable energy, energy efficiency, and other decarbonization technologies. 

The US Environmental Protection Agency awarded CGC $5 billion in seed funding from the National Clean Investment Fund to establish a national network of self-sustaining green lenders. Spruce Root is the first to sign a new network partner agreement and join the consortium.

“We’re excited to launch this new phase of the American Green Bank Consortium to deliver on the promise of establishing at least one self-sufficient green bank in every state,” CGC Chief Network Officer Stephen Brown says. “Our National Clean Investment Fund award now offers us the tools we need to eliminate green financing deserts and ensure that every community has access to the resources needed to impactfully reduce emissions while facilitating economic development.” 

A memorandum of understanding outlines CGC’s intent to provide Spruce Root with up to $10 million in a committed line of credit to facilitate clean energy projects such as the transition from diesel generators to electric heat pumps. This effort builds on a previous $2.5 million grant from the US Department of Energy that supported heat pump adoption throughout Prince of Wales Island in partnership with Alaska Power & Telephone Company. A separate batch of federal heat pump funding arrived this summer for Southeast Conference and Juneau-based Alaska Heat Smart from the US Environmental Protection Agency.

“This historic partnership will empower our region to break barriers to access clean energy, particularly in Indigenous communities,” says Spruce Root Community Development Financial Institution Director Michael Ching. “Alaskans currently bear the second-highest electricity costs in the nation. For too long, clean energy solutions remained out of reach for many. Today, that changes. With this funding and technical assistance, we can provide low-interest support to make clean energy a viable reality. Spruce Root is honored to be an Alaskan ambassador for renewable energy solutions.”