In each Solar Report newsletter, we feature one of our highly regarded Platinum Business Members with an exclusive interview. This month, TXSES Communications Director Tamara Kowalski reached out to Inclusive Prosperity Capital, Inc. (IPC) Smart-E Loan Program National Director Madeline Priest to learn about the company’s mission, accomplishments, and impacts on customers.
Origins and Leadership
Inclusive Prosperity Capital, Inc. (IPC) is a non-profit clean energy financing organization dedicated to ensuring everyone has access to the benefits of clean energy and resilience. Spun out of the Connecticut Green Bank in 2018, IPC focuses on aligning investment capital and financing programs with organizations, projects, and community initiatives that benefit underserved markets.
I have worked in the residential clean energy and energy efficiency space for 15 years. My first energy efficiency job was a three-year, 14 town, grassroots organizing campaign to get more energy audits and residential rooftop solar completed in the state of Connecticut. Then, in 2013, I moved to the Connecticut Green bank where I managed its residential Smart-E Loan and Solar for All programs, designed for underserved consumers while ensuring strong consumer protections, including traditional credit and alternative credit underwriting strategies. Thanks to those programs Connecticut reached “beyond parity” for residential rooftop solar penetration in low-income census tracts and communities of color.
Mission and Vision
We provide a gateway to inclusive prosperity by engaging with communities impacted most by climate change. We invest in clean energy and resilience in partnership with local initiatives and organizations to provide energy security, climate justice, and economic growth. We believe everyone should have access to the benefits of clean energy and resilience. Together, we can create change in underinvested neighborhoods and underserved markets to achieve inclusive prosperity.
Approach to Projects
We truly believe that contractors are the face of the clean energy industry in the residential market and we designed our Smart-E Loan program to be easy for lenders, contractors, and homeowners. With flexible timing of loan disbursements to meet industry needs, low contractor fees, low loan rates, long terms, and an easy application for your customers, we feel like the product is a real no brainer!
Career Impact
Meeting with and listening to the needs of our contractors has been the most impactful. I’ve learned so much about different business models, policies, technology advancements, and issues. I love when our contractors tell me their customers’ stories with pride. Together, we help real people and at the end of the day, that’s what matters.
Key Accomplishments
I take a lot of pride in the real impact our program makes for communities. I love hearing stories from small, local businesses that were able to double the size of their crew with access to easy, affordable financing solutions. It makes me very proud to hear how this program made the dream of going solar a possibility for a family who is trying to save money to make ends meet.
Industry Surprises and Dynamics
Even though each state has unique solar policies, so many things are a universal experience! Customers want to gain control of their energy costs. Everyone wants a path to do so that is easy and doesn’t have a lot of unnecessary barriers and is affordable.
Challenges Faced
Making connections with folks who haven’t heard of us or our track record of running great financing programs for over 10 years! We might be new to Texas, but we’re not new to solar financing. We’ve worked with small businesses and local lenders for over a decade, helping them grow and serve more customers.
Unique Contributions or Initiatives
In addition to the Smart-E Loan Program, IPC is proud to lead the Community Power Coalition, which was awarded $249.3 million under the EPA’s Solar for All program. This transformative program is designed to scale innovative residential-serving community solar and multifamily solar development and deliver meaningful benefits to low-income and disadvantaged communities across 46 states, including Texas, Puerto Rico, and Washington, D.C. If you are a community solar or multifamily solar developer, you can learn more about the program and sign up for our mailing list here.
Future Outlook
We are really looking forward to adding more Smart-E lenders, expanding our list of eligible contractors, and serving more Texans in their journey to clean energy and energy independence.
Final Thoughts
To learn more about the Smart-E Loan program and how you can offer it to your customers visit our website.