Financing Clean Energy: A Powerful Tool for Driving Investment in New Hampshire’s Economy

The Union of Concerned Scientists proposes that New Hampshire establish a clean energy finance authority to leverage public funds for private investment. An analysis suggests that an initial $14 million capitalization could drive $300 million in total investment over 15 years, resulting in 70 MW of new solar and wind capacity, $40.3 million in annual electricity bill savings, and a reduction of 222,900 tons of carbon dioxide emissions by 2031.

• A hypothetical clean energy finance authority in New Hampshire could leverage an initial public investment of $14 million into a total of $300 million for renewable energy and energy efficiency projects over a 15-year period.
• By 2031, such a financing initiative could support the installation of 70 megawatts (MW) of new wind and solar power capacity, which would generate or save electricity equivalent to 3.2 percent of the state's 2015 electricity sales.
• Investments in energy efficiency through this program are estimated to save New Hampshire homes and businesses $40.3 million on annual electricity bills by 2031.
• The proposed financing strategy could reduce carbon dioxide emissions by nearly 222,900 tons by 2031, a reduction comparable to removing 42,600 cars from the road.
• New Hampshire currently lags behind other states in energy efficiency and renewable energy deployment; in 2015, it ranked 30th for electricity use reduction from efficiency and 36th for installed solar capacity.
• The state already utilizes several clean energy tools, including the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI), which provided $41.6 million between 2012 and 2014, and a Renewable Portfolio Standard (RPS) requiring 24.8 percent renewable energy credits by 2025.
• To maximize efficiency and public awareness, the document suggests centralizing existing resources under a single "clean energy finance authority," potentially hosted by the New Hampshire Community Development Finance Authority (CDFA) or the New Hampshire Business Finance Authority (BFA).

APA

Union of Concerned Scientists (2016). Financing Clean Energy: A Powerful Tool for Driving Investment in New Hampshire’s Economy. https://www.ucsusa.org/sites/default/files/attach/2016/12/new-hampshire-clean-energy-finance.pdf

Chicago

Union of Concerned Scientists. Financing Clean Energy: A Powerful Tool for Driving Investment in New Hampshire’s Economy. 2016. https://www.ucsusa.org/sites/default/files/attach/2016/12/new-hampshire-clean-energy-finance.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=Union of Concerned Scientists |title=Financing Clean Energy: A Powerful Tool for Driving Investment in New Hampshire’s Economy |date=December 2016 |url=https://www.ucsusa.org/sites/default/files/attach/2016/12/new-hampshire-clean-energy-finance.pdf |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{unionofconcernedscientists2016financing, author = {{Union of Concerned Scientists}}, title = {{Financing Clean Energy: A Powerful Tool for Driving Investment in New Hampshire’s Economy}}, institution = {Union of Concerned Scientists}, year = {2016}, month = dec, url = {https://www.ucsusa.org/sites/default/files/attach/2016/12/new-hampshire-clean-energy-finance.pdf}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }