Helping Smaller Energy Efficiency Companies Tap into the $279 Billion Market
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About 97 percent of the energy efficiency market is untapped due to the difficulty finding investors and other issues, says Dennis Quinn, chief operating officer of Joule Assets.
And that’s a big market: nearly $279 billion in the US, he says.
In this podcast (see player above), Quinn and Richard Jones, senior vice president of Hartford Steam Boiler explain how they’re going to help solve the problem by boosting investor confidence in projects. The two companies announced a portfolio-wide insurance product designed to meet the needs of smaller energy efficiency companies
The product provides small contractors access to capital and investors, Quinn says. It does this by including them in a portfolio of projects that’s presented to investors. Energy savings from the projects are used to pay back the investors.
“The contractors often aren’t large investors and need investment-grade companies behind them,” he says in this podcast. “We bring projects to market through our contractors.”
Investors often worry about contractors going out of business, for example. But with this product, Joule Assets stands behind the contractors.
Investors can look at a broader product that’s made up of a portfolio of projects, he explains. “They know that we’re standing behind the savings.”
With this product, contractors have lower reserve margins.”Our contractors previously had to set aside a portion of their margin” to insure against possible problems. But with this product, they don’t have to do that.
Joule provides contractors with fixed-payment loans, service agreements with guaranteed savings, or service agreements with shared savings.
For investors, Joule is offering the ERA Fund, which, according to the company website, “provides new access to environmentally responsible investments for high-net-worth, accredited individual investors, family foundations, mutual funds, and institutional investors.”
Joule Assets delivers financing solutions backed by performance insurance for energy efficiency and demand response initiatives and projects.
“Leveraging our proprietary database, software and extensive industry expertise, our mission is to expand commerce and reduce barriers in these complicated markets by creating transparency and providing financing solutions,” the company says.
Tell us what you see as the main obstacles faced by smaller energy efficiency companies. Post below or on our LinkedIn Group, Energy Efficiency Markets.
