Refinancing Saves Borrowers $7.8 million
Rhode Island Infrastructure Bank is proud to announce the closing of a Clean Water State Revolving Fund and Drinking Water State Revolving Fund bond refinancing transaction, with a principal value of $153.8 million. The transactions will generate $7.8 million of upfront cash savings for 28 municipalities and utilities.
The refinancing of Drinking Water and Clean Water State Revolving Fund bonds is part of a strategic effort by the Bank to take advantage of low interest rates and provide financial savings to customers. This past July, the Bank completed a refinancing for Drinking Water State Revolving Fund bonds, which generated more than $550,000 of cash-savings for borrowers. In 2019, the Bank has created $8.4 million of cash-savings for borrowers.
Call for Participants: 2020 Municipal Resilience Program 
The Bank, in partnership with The Nature Conservancy, has opened the application period for the 2020 Municipal Resilience Program (MRP).

Building off the program’s success in 2019, the Municipal Resilience Program (MRP), aims to equip RI municipalities with the tools necessary to assess their vulnerability to the impacts of climate change, while providing the necessary funding to invest in specific community resilience projects. Successful applicants gain access to technical assistance from The Nature Conservancy and the opportunity to apply for action grants through the Infrastructure Bank. The Bank has committed $1 million in grant funding for projects that are identified in the 2020 MRP process.

All Rhode Island cities and towns can apply for the 2020 Municipal Resilience Program here . Applications are due no later than 4 PM on January 31 st , 2019, and up to 5 municipalities will be selected for the 2020 round of the program.
$5 Million in Matching Grants for Wastewater Resilience Projects
$5 million is now available for wastewater treatment facility resilience projects in the form of grants from the Infrastructure Bank and the R.I. Department of Environmental Management. Eligible projects must aim to protect publicly-owned wastewater treatment facilities from storm surge, winds, and other natural hazards that stem from extreme weather events. The Request for Proposals (RFP ) is open until January 30, 2020. For more information or questions, please contact Bill Patenaude . 
Schedule a Free Energy Audit During Winter Break 
Through the Efficient Buildings Fund, the Infrastructure Bank and R.I. Office of Energy Resources offer free building energy audits to municipalities, quasi-public agencies and public schools. Winter break is a great time for schools and other public facilities to conduct free energy audits. Energy audits can uncover inexpensive, easy-to-implement energy-saving measures as well as opportunities for consumption reductions. With the help of an audit, the Town of Westerly identified and implemented boiler replacements, lighting retrofits and insulation projects that resulte d in savings of $243,000 in energy costs. Whatever your facility – and whatever your
energy-saving goals – energy audits are a simple way to
get an energy “checkup.” 

To schedule an audit at your school or other building, fill out this form .

Jeffrey R. Diehl Reflects on the Success of C-PACE
In a recent New England Real Estate Journal article, Jeffrey R. Diehl, CEO of the Infrastructure Bank, reflected on the recent successes of the Commercial Property Assessed Clean Energy Program (C-PACE) and shared his vision for the future of the program.

“Rhode Island Infrastructure Bank looks forward to helping even more businesses, non-profits, and organizations make meaningful clean energy investments by opening doors to low-cost, long-term financing. We are proud of the progress the C-PACE program has already made towards this end, and we look forward to continuing our work to make Rhode Island cleaner, greener, and more efficient.”

Read the full article here.
Financing for Wickford Sewer Project 

The Infrastructure Bank recently announced $315,000 in financing for the Wickford Village Commercial Area Wastewater Collection System Project . The Wickford Village Project involves the installation of more than 10,000 linear feet of sewer lines and a pump station with an emergency generator. This most recent loan will add 850 linear feet of sewer line in the areas of Post Road and West Main Street. Funding for the project comes from the Infrastructure Bank’s Clean Water State Revolving Fund (CWSRF). By financing through the Bank, the Town will save $30,000 on debt service over the 15-year loan term.