Announcing the New City of Charlottesville Clean Energy Commercial Loan Program

For Immediate Release: January 16, 2014

UVA Community Credit Union, Local Energy Alliance Program and City of Charlottesville Support Business Efforts to Save Energy, Improve Bottom Line

Charlottesville – Local businesses can now take advantage of a new City of Charlottesville Clean Energy Commercial Loan Program to invest in renewable energy technologies and energy efficiency improvements, announced today by UVA Community Credit Union, the Local Energy Alliance Program (LEAP), and the City of Charlottesville.

More information. 

This new program provides flexible financing structures and terms to help qualified businesses and their owners overcome financial barriers to making these improvements. Rates offered through this program are as low as prime for well qualified borrowers. The program is made possible through a grant provided by the City of Charlottesville and is administered by LEAP.

“We really appreciate the work that LEAP and the City of Charlottesville are doing to help area residents and businesses make energy efficiency and renewable upgrades to help them save money and improve their buildings. UVA Community Credit Union is happy to now provide an enhanced commercial financing mechanism to make these improvements more accessible for area businesses,” said Pamela Turner, Senior Vice-President/CFO of UVA Community Credit Union.  “It was the right thing for us to do and a natural extension to our PowerSaver Loan program for residential energy efficiency and renewable home improvements.”

A variety of projects are eligible for loans, including:

• Lighting upgrades

• Energy audits

• Energy management controls

• Heating, Ventilation and Air Conditioning

• Refrigeration and food service

• Duct sealing

• Insulation

• Water Heaters

• Renewables

“Countless Charlottesville area businesses have expressed interest in clean energy and energy efficiency improvements, but financing has been an obstacle. The vision of this loan program is to remove that barrier so a business – whether it’s a coffee shop, church, or office building – can make these investments and reap the rewards for their bottom line and our community,” said Cynthia Adams, LEAP’s Executive Director.

Interested businesses are encouraged to visit www.leap-va.org for more information or contact LEAP at info@leap-va.org or 434.227.4666 to fill out a simple application to get started. A LEAP energy advisor will confirm eligibility and guide businesses through the process.

“Creating sustainable funding streams for energy efficiency and renewable energy is key to saving our community money, strengthening our local economy, and increasing our ability to be good stewards of our environmental resources,” said Satyendra Huja, Mayor of the City of Charlottesville. “The City is pleased to be partnered with LEAP and the UVA Community Credit Union to provide this valuable resource to our non-residential sector, and we applaud the work, vision, and community focus that brought it forward.”