• Provide consistent funding for Washington Builds green bank to enable the launch and expansion of clean buildings financing tools statewide. Continued investment will allow Washington Builds to deploy affordable financing to building owners and tenants at scale, attract private capital by de-risking clean buildings investments, and coordinate clean buildings financing efforts.
• Critically, the green bank model breaks the cycle of time- or funding-limited rebates and incentives by providing certainty to the market, which allows market actors to invest in business capacity to meet demand and potentially reduce customer acquisition costs through a reliable pipeline of projects. It can also support market transformation initiatives and engage contractors through loan products that benefit their business development efforts or by developing a contractor network.
• Per capita funding from successful green banks in New York and Connecticut points to a target of $400 million- $1 billion for Washington Builds.

Green banks have a track record of attracting nearly $7 in private investment with each $1 of public funding. Washington Builds’ potential to leverage public funds for much greater total impact makes it a uniquely effective use of state dollars. It also offers a self-sustaining model that recycles initial capital to permanently scale access to financing for building upgrades and other clean energy projects in Washington.

To ensure that the benefits of clean buildings financing extend to households and businesses that are often excluded from traditional lending, Washington Builds can:

• Set targets for the share of capital dedicated to projects serving highly impacted communities.
• Offer programs like loan-loss reserves that reduce the cost of loans.
• Coordinate with grant, rebate, and no-cost upgrade programs to ensure that those are used to finance projects wherever possible, before a loan option.
• Partner with community organizations to deliver outreach to households, business owners, and contractors.
• Look for investments in affordable housing, rental housing, and community spaces.

2026:

• Washington Builds launches its first programs using $25 million allocated by the Washington State Legislature in 2026. It builds an initial project pipeline that spans residential, commercial, and public buildings, and it aims to meet the goal set by the Legislature of a 15:1 leverage ratio in its residential portfolio and 3:1 leverage ratio in its commercial portfolio.

2027:

• Programs succeed in meeting requirements set by the Washington State Legislature and the second tranche of $25 million is allocated to Washington Builds in 2026. The new funds expand lending capacity and support programs and partnerships to reach new segments.  

2028 and beyond:

• Washington Builds continues to receive increasing capitalization from the Climate Commitment Act (CCA), scales financing products statewide, supports clean buildings retrofits across all building segments, and advances broader state decarbonization goals.