CGC Invests $200 Million in GreenieRE to Remove Financing Obstacles and Accelerate Access to Cheaper Power
This investment strengthens the financing ecosystem by removing risk and reducing costs to qualified clean power projects
Washington, DC (Feb. 1, 2025) — The Coalition for Green Capital (CGC) is pleased to announce an investment of $200 million in GreenieRE, an impact-focused reinsurance company designed to remove financing obstacles in the insurance market to reduce costs and accelerate the deployment of clean energy technologies at-scale. Over the next decade, GreenieRE will create a ripple effect across the financing ecosystem and unlock over $30 billion in private-sector investment toward qualified projects that allows access to clean cheap power.
A major obstacle for advancing clean energy projects is the lack of affordable and comprehensive insurance. Green banks, community lenders, and other financial institutions face significant challenges in securing insurance products that accurately assess risk, which is essential to qualify projects as investment-grade and attract private sector capital. Uncertainty around risk results in costly, restrictive, and limited insurance options, slowing the deployment of cost-effective energy solutions. GreenieRE will initially target bottleneck risks that are limiting the deployment of decarbonization infrastructure.
The challenge is even greater for projects serving low-income and environmentally impacted communities, where perceived financial risks are higher. With CGC’s capitalization, GreenieRE is stepping in to provide tailored insurance solutions that address these gaps and de-risk investment in qualified projects. At least 50 percent of GreenieRE’s insured value will be dedicated to projects located in neglected markets, ensuring these communities have access to affordable clean energy while fostering private sector engagement. CGC’s investment will also drive the growth of the target insurance markets and accelerate adoption of cheap clean power nationwide.
Over the next decade, projects supported by GreenieRE have the potential to deliver transformative impacts. They could avoid up to 2.3 million metric tons of CO₂ emissions—the equivalent of the power used by over 300,000 homes over a year —while driving billions of dollars in private capital into clean affordable American energy. Projects directly tied to GreenieRE’s involvement are expected to generate $5.2 billion, with a ripple effect throughout the financing ecosystem unlocking over $30 billion in total project value. Beyond financial gains, these efforts will deliver real benefits to American families, including cleaner air and water, new job opportunities, and access to lower energy costs.
GreenieRE will work alongside traditional insurers to support clean energy project developers and financial institutions to de-risk qualified projects. GreenieRE will work in close partnership with expert underwriters and leading impact finance organizations to crowd in additional capital with scalable, replicable, commercial insurance contracts.
CGC received a one-time $5 billion grant from the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) National Clean Investment Fund (NCIF) program to invest in public-private partnerships and create a network of self-sustaining green banks to accelerate the construction of a clean power platform. GreenieRE was part of CGC’s workplan under the NCIF program that outlined how CGC would support the development of America’s advanced power platform. In line with CGC’s mandate, this investment will address financing obstacles and cause the private sector to invest in America’s advanced clean power platform so all Americans can benefit from the cleanest water and air, more jobs, and more affordable energy.
“The private sector has demonstrated a strong willingness to invest in expanding clean energy access for Americans,” said CGC’s Chief Executive Officer Richard Kauffman. “However, significant bottlenecks continue to hinder efforts to lower costs and accelerate the deployment of these technologies. This partnership represents a crucial first step in removing barriers that restrict private capital and keep clean energy technologies costly for both developers and consumers. GreenieRE will play a key role in mobilizing private sector support to empower state and local green banks, along with other lenders, to finance critical community clean energy projects that would otherwise struggle to secure private sector capital.”
“The global energy transition needs high-impact risk management solutions and insurance is a proven, commercial and scalable structure,” said Jeff McAulay, CEO of GreenieRE. “Our priority is the most efficient use of federal funding to achieve maximum impact for end users. We are grateful for CGC’s leadership in creating the next generation of green financing institutions. With GreenieRE we follow a legacy of government-sponsored institutions to responsibly de-risk a major growing asset class using best practices from the private sector insurers.”
InnSure, a founding member of The GreenieRE Coalition, offered enthusiastic congratulates to both CGC and GreenieRE on this “monumental achievement” with reference to the fact that there are 1500 mission-driven Community Development Financial Institutions that provide catalytic capital to unlock innovation and economic development — but until now, none have been (re)insurance organizations.
“The demand for smart, responsible, and mission-driven capital that leverages extensive insurance knowledge and industry best practices is substantial, and we are confident that GreenieRE’s pioneering approach will not only be successful in de-risking cheap power but will foster the emergence of a Community Development (Re)insurance sub-sector within the CDFI community,” said Cera Schrems, Executive Director, InnSure Corporation. “This will unlock and accelerate desperately needed insurance innovations that can tackle various protection gap challenges beyond those currently addressed by GreenieRE. We believe this is a better way than creating federal backstops to shore up every industry market failure of which there are many.”
About the Coalition for Green Capital
The Coalition for Green Capital (CGC), doing business as the American Green Bank Consortium, is a 501(c)(3) organization committed to reducing greenhouse gas emissions and advancing energy equity through public-private partnerships. For over a decade, CGC has led the Green Bank movement, working at the federal, state, and local levels to accelerate the clean energy transition. For more information, visit www.coalitionforgreencapital.com.
About the GreenieRE Coalition
The GreenieRe Coalition is a non-profit with a wholly-owned licensed industry association captive, domiciled in Vermont. GreenieRE partners with expert underwriters and was born out of a collaboration between Energetic Capital, kWh Analytics, and the insurance focused non-profit InnSure, with foundational support from the Coalition for Green Capital. For more information, visit www.GreenieRE.org.
About InnSure
InnSure is a mission-driven nonprofit at the intersection of insurance innovation and climate change. By amplifying and accelerating climate-friendly insurance solutions and innovation, InnSure is catalyzing a quick, bold, and decisive insurance industry response to climate risk. The organization views its mission through a societal lens, looking for nature-positive ways that insurance can make the world better, create new markets, close the protection gap, increase community resilience, and accelerate the transition to carbon net zero. Through initiatives like the annual InnSure Climate Forum and the NYSERDA-supported Insurance Innovation for Climate-Technology Solutions program, the InnSure ecosystem is designed to foster collaboration between insurance professionals, policymakers, communities, entrepreneurs, risk capacity providers, investors, and stakeholders. For more information, visit innsure.org.
Source: Coalition for Green Capital via InnSure
Tags: climate change, funding, reinsurance, social responsibility, Strategic Investment, United States (USA)