Ygrene Partners With Empowerment Institute on New Green Initiative in California

Ygrene Commits $240 Million in Affordable Financing to Los Angeles, Irvine, and Petaluma for Clean Energy Improvements as Part of the Cool City Challenge

(Petaluma, Calif.) - Ygrene, a leading property improvement financing provider, today announced a partnership with the Empowerment Institute’s Center for Reinventing the Planet to provide equitable access to affordable financing for energy efficiency, renewable energy, and water conservation home improvements. The commitment is part of the Cool City Challenge – a $6 million investment in three California cities becoming carbon neutral by 2030.

The Cool City Challenge awarded multi-sectoral teams in Los Angeles, Irvine, and Petaluma $1 million plus consulting support to execute their plans to achieve carbon neutrality by 2030 without carbon offsets. As a partner in this initiative, Ygrene has made an initial commitment of $240 million (approx. $80 million per city) in available financing for carbon reduction projects for the residents of the selected cities. Although the amount financed is determined by the homeowner, on average, it would allow 400 blocks per city to access up to $20,000 per household in financing with no upfront costs and flexible terms that is repaid with property taxes.

“We share the Empowerment Institute’s goal of creating healthier, cleaner, and more sustainable communities, and we look forward to working with the Institute to support the Cool City Challenge. This project will help to ensure there are ample resources and know-how for residents of Los Angeles, Irvine, and Petaluma to make critical carbon emission reductions in their neighborhoods,” said Jim Reinhart, CEO and President of Ygrene. “Ygrene helps to empower communities and residents across the country, and this is an exciting opportunity to advance our mission to help homeowners improve their homes, reduce their carbon footprint, conserve water, and help their communities hit critical climate action goals. We look forward to working with the Empowerment Institute and California homeowners on this innovative and game-changing project.”

Ygrene’s contribution will provide a 40x multiplier on the $6 million program investment and will provide unprecedented leverage to maximize the positive climate and social impact of the program.

Petaluma, one of the cities selected for the Cool City Challenge, is home to Ygrene’s headquarters. The company has helped Californians improve their homes, reduce their carbon footprint, maximize energy efficiency, and water conservation for over a decade. Since its inception, Ygrene has financed over 40,000 property improvement projects in California, which are estimated to have resulted in the installation of 98 megawatts of solar and a projected reduction of 1.5 million metric tons of CO2. Additionally, the projects are projected to save an estimated 6 billion kilowatt-hours of energy and 4.3 billion gallons of water, while adding 2 billion dollars to the state’s gross economic output.

About Ygrene

Ygrene's award-winning property improvement financing, with built-in consumer protections, is delivering greater choice for home and business owners by providing access to affordable financing for energy efficiency, renewable energy, water conservation, storm protection, and seismic upgrades. In addition, Ygrene financing has proven to be a successful tool for supporting public policy initiatives - at no cost to local government. By providing over $2.5 billion of private capital to more than 550 local communities, Ygrene has created tens of thousands of jobs and invested millions into local economies across the U.S. Learn more at ygrene.com.