Business Owner / Financing
Dilemma
- Even with incentives, many energy efficiency and clean energy projects have large upfront costs and the ROI may not come for years.
- Some developers may not own the property long enough to see the return.
- Fortunately, there are solutions.
Tips
- Many incentives are stackable.
- The City of Green Bay’s Community and Economic Development staff has deep expertise in assisting business owners. Contact them here.
More Pathways for Small Business Owners:
PACE
Use Property Assessed Clean Energy (PACE) financing
PACE financing has been used successfully by many Green Bay businesses.
PACE financing addresses the dilemma of finding a way to finance upfront costs for developers and business owners who are doing new construction and retrofits. It was designed to help the business community achieve their goals in a way that ‘pencils out’ more easily.
It can be used to finance most types of clean energy and energy efficiency projects, including solar PV, energy efficient windows, HVAC systems, etc. Unlike a normal commercial loan, it’s paid back through voluntary assessments that stays with the building, even after it’s sold.
If the project financed through PACE is well designed, the loan can even be cash positive, meaning you will be saving more than you’ll be paying. That’s a good deal! There are commercial lenders who specialize in these types of loans.
In Wisconsin, PACE is administered by Slipstream–a nonprofit organization. Go to https://www.pacewi.org for more information.
Other Options
Don’t forget the SBA Microloan program!
SBA Microloans are loans under $50,000 that can be used for clean energy and energy efficiency projects (among other things). The loan terms are up to the individual community lender, but typically require collateral and/or a personal guarantee. The Wisconsin Women in Business Initiative works with the SBA and maintains an office to help small business owners connect to community lenders (you don’t need to be a woman). Go here ttps://www.wwbic.com/business-lending/ for more information.
The WEDC Green Innovation Fund
(Update: Unfortunately, the federal funding for this was rescinded. WEDC continues to seek capitalization for this revolving loan. Check with WEDC for updates.)
The Wisconsin Economic Development Corporation (WEDC) is working to establish a Green Innovation Fund (GIF). They have indicated that the GIF will be a revolving loan fund dedicated to new, energy efficient construction, decarbonizing retrofits, and other projects related to clean energy. The WEDC maintains a page here: https://wedc.org/building-communities/green-innovation-fund/. They periodically issue a newsletter, which you can subscribe to from their website.
Updated: 2/13/2026