| Loan program helps businesses be more engergy efficient | |||
| Dec 1, 2010 | Montgomery Advertiser | ||
| Markeshia Ricks
Dec. 1, 2010 (McClatchy-Tribune Regional News delivered by Newstex) -- Starting today Alabama businesses wanting to become more energy efficient will have an easier time finding the money to make those changes.
The Alabama Department of Economic and Community Affairs has started a $60 million revolving loan program called AlabamaSAVES (Sustainable and Verifiable Energy Savings). And beginning today, Alabama industrial and commercial business owners will be able to apply for 2 percent interest loans of between $250,000 and $4 million to finance energy-saving improvements to their facilities.
The loans can be used to upgrade heating and air-conditioning systems, windows and doors, electrical systems, water heating systems, energy management systems, lighting and insulation.
Businesses also can use the loans to install renewable energy systems such as those powered by biomass or solar energy. Loans can be used to cover up to 90 percent of a project's total cost.
Doni Ingram, director of ADECA, said businesses would have up to 10 years to pay the loans back.
"As the loans are repaid, the fund will be replenished," she said.
Ingram said the goal of the program is to help Alabama businesses become not only more energy efficient, but more competitive.
Linda Swann, director of the Alabama Development Office, said the program would also help Alabama businesses save money. Swann said that if businesses simply went to the bank for the loan they might pay as much as three times the interest rate of the AlabamaSAVES program.
"We will see a huge difference for Alabama's businesses," she said.
Ingram said to ensure that the money would be used effectively, each loan applicant must conduct an energy audit.
The projects will be evaluated on their potential for creating and retaining jobs, cost and sustainable energy savings, renewable energy generation capacity and emissions reductions.
ADECA established the program using $25 million in federal funding from the American Recover and Reinvestment Act. The department worked with private lenders and used $12.5 million of the money to establish a loan-loss reserve. Additional private-lender financing was used to increase the loan pool to $60 million.
Randy McRae Jr., International Paper's (OOTC:INPAP) (NYSE:IP) senior regional manager for government relations, said that retrofitting existing equipment would go a long way in helping a company save on energy costs.
Newstex ID: KRTB-0128-51271213 | |||
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