Climate Incentive Bridge Loans: Borrower Eligibility and Intake

IBank’s Climate Incentives Bridge Loans provide bridge financing for public, private, and nonprofit sector borrowers seeking to utilize anticipated incentives, such as utility and state agency rebates, federal clean energy tax credits, and reimbursable grant funds, to finance project costs. The Incentive Bridge Loan is structured as a term loan with no prepayment penalty and includes an expectation that incentive payments will be used to retire outstanding debt to IBank.

Eligible Applicants include, but are not limited to:

Municipalities and any subdivisions of local government — counties, cities, etc.
Special districts
Public-benefit, tax-exempt nonprofits
Private sector and for-profit entities

In addition, eligible borrowers must demonstrate positive cash flow and a minimum Debt Service Coverage Ratio, including the ability to maintain reasonable net operating cash flows in the event an incentive does not materialize.

Eligible Projects:

Projects, activities, and technologies meeting the Six-Factor Eligibility Criteria, in particular those in the three priority sectors: Zero-Emission Transportation, Net-Zero Emissions Buildings, Distributed Generation.
Complies with applicable federal requirements. Please refer to the Federal Cross-Cutting Requirements webpage.

Loan Structure:

Bridge loans will take two forms, dependent on the status of the incentive.

If incentive is earned, borrower will be eligible for a short-term bridge loan. The incentive is earned once all applicable activities are deemed complete by the incentive provider, the incentive has no remaining contingencies, and the borrower is awaiting incentive payment. An incentive award or assignment in and of itself does not qualify an incentive as earned.
If incentive is not yet earned, borrower will be eligible for a sponsor-backed loan secured by a pledged revenue source or other assets. The incentive is not yet earned if all applicable activities are ongoing, contingencies remain outstanding and have not yet been deemed complete by the incentive provider.

How do I apply?

If you have a project and have assessed your eligibility based on the information above, complete the Climate Catalyst Intake Form to get started.

Complete the Climate Catalyst Intake Form

Frequently Asked Questions

IBank Climate Financing

Q: What can a potential borrower anticipate from the underwriting and evaluation process?

A: Potential borrowers are encouraged to submit information about their project via the Climate Catalyst Intake Form. The Intake Form will be used by IBank staff to assess the project’s initial alignment with available capital and, if aligned, will reach out to the potential borrower to solicit an application.

Potential borrowers can anticipate that the following information will be collected as part of the application process:

Borrower information, including operational history, key members of the management and project teams, and demonstration of authority to receive IBank financing.
Business/operating plan, including an assessment of product or service markets and anchor customers/contracts and their financial statements.
Historical financial statements and tax returns, including any corporate guarantors (when applicable).
A personal financial statement and credit report for any individual guarantors (when applicable).
Documentation of all current capital commitments and anticipated future funding needed for the venture to be viable.
A capital development budget showing the anticipated costs of the development and the source of funds that will pay for these costs.
Descriptions of any proposed collateral.
For real estate financings, description of the environmental condition of the site to be developed.
An operating pro forma showing income and expense for a term consistent with the life of the financing.
A description of projected labor expenses, positions hired, salary, and benefit costs associated with each position.
Intellectual Property, required permits, authorizations, and approvals.
Material corporate documents, including formation and capital structure documents.
Existing project financing agreements, including loans, leases, and other financial obligations.
Material third party agreements, arrangements, and partnerships.
Any other information that IBank Staff may reasonably request to complete its assessment of project eligibility and viability.