A New Resource for Alternative Energy

by Chuck Hall

There is a power grid failure somewhere in the United States every thirteen days. Current estimates suggest that the demands on the power grid are growing about 25% faster than the current infrastructure can support. Unless something changes drastically very soon, blackouts and brownouts will become more and more common.

Just to let you know how fragile the current power grid is: the blackout of August, 2003 that affected much of the Eastern Seaboard, was caused due to a tree branch falling on a power line in Ohio!

One of the most obvious choices we as energy consumers could make would be to simply not connect to the power grid in the first place. By connecting to the grid, we make our families and ourselves susceptible to the failures inherent in the system. When the grid goes down, so will our homes, if we’re connected to the grid. If your home has its own power source, whether solar, wind, mini-hydro, or some other source, you are no longer dependent upon your local power company for your energy.

While energy independence may sound like a good idea, the sad fact is that most banks will not loan money for a solar or wind power installation because they consider it a luxury item and not a necessity. A new player in the financial market is trying to change all of that.

New Resource Bank (www.newresourcebank.com) is a new startup based in Northern California. Unlike most financial institutions, New Resource Bank has enough foresight to realize that the future lies in the direction of sustainability. With this in mind, they have partnered with SunPower Corporation, also a California-based company, to create financing packages for solar installations in homes and businesses. A typical solar installation that would allow a home to become energy-independent could run anywhere from $20,000 to $40,000 (before federal, state and local tax incentives). New Resource Bank will structure a home equity loan for such a purchase. In most cases the payments on such a loan end up being less expensive than the monthly power bill for an on-the-grid home.

New Resource Bank was founded by a group of entrepreneurs with over 200 years of banking experience among them. According to their mission statement, their goal is “financing sustainable resources in [their] community.” If their initial public offering is any indication, there is a huge demand for their services. Nearly $25 million worth of stocks were sold at the opening, making it one of the largest startups of a bank in the history of Northern California.

Hopefully in the near future more financial institutes will learn from New Resource Bank’s example. There is a great demand for sustainable technology, and those who help to finance it only stand to gain from it.