Solar Energy & Economic Development (SEED) Fund, Multiple Jurisdictions

The SEED Fund utilizes a public-private revolving endowment to defer all upfront costs of clean energy assessments and enable financial savings through collaborative portfolio procurement across multiple sites for cooperating government organizations. Optony manages client intake, energy audits of billing and rates, and provides feasibility analysis for The Solar Energy & Economic Development Fund.

Round One of the SEED Fund brought together fourteen public agencies in the counties of Napa, Marin, and Sonoma. This led to the reduction of project risk and project costs as judged and reflected by the participants. SEED Fund Round Two was held in the counties of Santa Cruz, San Benito, and Monterey and was led by County of Santa Cruz. The second round resulted in multiple megawatts of new renewable generation contracts and is in the final contract approval stages with renewable energy systems providers. The launch of Round Three is underway in the Sierra Nevada region including public agencies in El Dorado County, Alpine County, and Nevada County. All SEED projects have leveraged the revolving fund to provide renewable energy project planning, project management, site assessments, and procurement activities without any risk or upfront cost to the participating public agencies.