Getting the Most from Your Green: A Case Study for Using Public Money Effectively for Large-Scale Renewable Energy in California

This case study describes the Climate Policy Initiative's (CPI) methodology for identifying effective public financial interventions for low-carbon projects, using large-scale renewable energy in California as an example.

• CPI's analysis of large-scale renewable generation in California indicates that while most projects are well supported by current policy and financing, public financial interventions could be effectively applied in three specific areas: aggregating and securitizing projects to reduce tax equity financing transaction costs (potentially via a YieldCo), providing small and medium enterprises with better finance through alternate loan security like on-bill repayment or property taxes (similar to Property Assessed Clean Energy programs), and using loan guarantees, concessional lending, or interest-rate buydowns to bear risk for early-stage, innovative renewable technologies.
• CPI utilizes a multi-step framework to identify where public financing and risk-bearing mechanisms have the greatest effect. In the California case study, the first step identified seven unmet needs of stakeholders, and the second step ('Screen for Suitability') narrowed these down to the three priority interventions. A preliminary third step regarding opportunity sizing suggests that public intervention in any of these three areas could have a significant impact.

APA

Climate Policy Initiative (2014). Getting the Most from Your Green: A Case Study for Using Public Money Effectively for Large-Scale Renewable Energy in California. https://www.climatepolicyinitiative.org/publication/getting-the-most-from-your-green-a-case-study-for-using-public-money-effectively-for-large-scale-renewable-energy-in-california/

Chicago

Climate Policy Initiative. Getting the Most from Your Green: A Case Study for Using Public Money Effectively for Large-Scale Renewable Energy in California. 2014. https://www.climatepolicyinitiative.org/publication/getting-the-most-from-your-green-a-case-study-for-using-public-money-effectively-for-large-scale-renewable-energy-in-california/.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=Climate Policy Initiative |title=Getting the Most from Your Green: A Case Study for Using Public Money Effectively for Large-Scale Renewable Energy in California |date=1 July 2014 |url=https://www.climatepolicyinitiative.org/publication/getting-the-most-from-your-green-a-case-study-for-using-public-money-effectively-for-large-scale-renewable-energy-in-california/ |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{climatepolicyinitiative2014getting, author = {{Climate Policy Initiative}}, title = {{Getting the Most from Your Green: A Case Study for Using Public Money Effectively for Large-Scale Renewable Energy in California}}, institution = {Climate Policy Initiative}, year = {2014}, month = jul, url = {https://www.climatepolicyinitiative.org/publication/getting-the-most-from-your-green-a-case-study-for-using-public-money-effectively-for-large-scale-renewable-energy-in-california/}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }