In our work with water utilities across the country, the Environmental Finance Center is often asked how a water utility might encourage conservation amongst its customers. Such utilities may be interested in promoting water conservation for various reasons. In many cases, … Read more

Earlier this week, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (LBNL) released a technical brief, “Energy Efficiency Program Financing: Where it comes from, where it goes, and how it gets there.” Financing specifically refers to capital that is used to cover project upfront … Read more

Here at the EFC, we are always looking for ways to support the sustainable financing of energy efficiency for communities around the country, including in our home state of North Carolina. In the Old North State, electricity customers are generally … Read more

Back in September, the School of Government’s Community and Economic Development in North Carolina and Beyond blog highlighted a new program from US EPA to work with small businesses nationwide to develop and commercialize technologies that tackle critical environmental problems:  the … Read more

Water and Wastewater utilities receive “credit ratings” just as a private individual has a FICO® score. While organizations like the Fair Isaac Corporation calculate personal credit scores, for entities like local government utilities, the three groups that generate credit ratings … Read more

As the Assistant Program Manager at the UNC Environmental Finance Center (EFC), I work ‘behind the scenes’ on internal projects related to the every day management of our center. In my role facilitating organizational development at the EFC, I recently … Read more

In May 2015, SunEdison was the largest renewable energy developer in the world. The solar and wind company is headquartered in California, with projects worldwide. Now, almost a year later, the company’s stock price has plummeted from $30 per share … Read more

Guest Post by Lars Hanson For utilities across the country, water reuse has been attracting a great deal of attention recently, and with good reason. As utilities and the communities they serve grow and mature, they find themselves managing increasing … Read more

There will probably never be a time that financial statements, like Comprehensive Audited Financial Reports (CAFRs) and Annual Financial Reports (AFRs), are going to be as exciting as the New York Times latest bestseller. They are usually long documents and … Read more

On November 3rd, 2015 the Town of Chapel Hill, NC passed a bond referendum that appropriated $5.2 million for solid waste facilities and $5.9 million for stormwater improvements. Both were General Obligation (GO) bonds where the town pledged its full … Read more