Local officials learned about leveraging private sector investments to “green” facilities and save on energy costs during a lunch session on the first day of the MACo Summer Conference. The session titled “Leveraging Private Investment to Capitalize Energy Improvements” was moderated by MACo First Vice President and Washington County Commissioner John Barr.

Speakers included Laura Franke, the Managing Director  for Public Financial Management, Inc.; Wyatt Shifflet, the Director of Finance Programs for the Maryland Clean Energy Center; David Lever, Executive Director  of the Public School Construction Program; and Mike Dow, Esq., with the firm Womble Carlyle Sandridge & Rice LLP.

Speakers discussed “green bank” lending programs, Energy Performance Contracting and Power Purchase Agreements,the use of taxable and tax-exempt bonds to finance projects, innovative approaches to finance school renovations, and model projects that use Commercial Property Assessed Clean Energy (CPACE) lending.