Clean Energy – Page 2 – River City Bank

February 19, 2019

River City Bank opens second office in San Francisco Bay Area

Premier California business bank expands footprint, deepens ties in Bay Area

SACRAMENTO, CA — River City Bank is expanding its presence in the Bay Area with the establishment of a new office in the Financial District of San Francisco. This new location provides commercial banking and project finance services, and houses the Bank’s Clean Energy Division focused on servicing Community Choice Aggregation (CCA) clients, expanding relationships with other players in the clean energy space, and supporting California’s climate action goals. This addition marks the second Bay Area location for River City Bank, which opened a commercial banking office in Walnut Creek in 2015.

“After hitting a record number in assets and creating our new Clean Energy Division, we’re excited to open a second commercial banking office in the Bay Area,” said Steve Fleming, President and CEO of River City Bank. “The new office is a key component of our strategy to expand our focus and presence throughout California.”

The expansion is a natural progression of the bank’s shift from being primarily a Sacramento-centric consumer-oriented bank to focusing on commercial banking throughout California, and it comes after a series of significant milestones. In 2018, River City Bank grew to more than $2.2 billion in assets and launched the new Clean Energy Division under the leadership of Rosa Hilmarsdottir Cucicea, Vice President & Clean Energy Division Manager.

The Bank has taken a bold lead in the clean energy space, supporting CCA clients throughout California with their depository, cash management, and lending needs. Notable clients include Valley Clean Energy in Yolo County, Clean Power Alliance of Southern California, Marin Clean Energy, Silicon Valley Clean Energy, Monterey Bay Community Power and East Bay Community Energy. River City Bank provides CCA clients with custom-tailored solutions spanning start-up capital, lines of credit, renewable energy project financing and custodian “lockbox” accounts.

The new office is located at 201 Mission Street, Suite 1300, in San Francisco, and can be reached at (415) 293-4200. For more information on River City Bank, visit www.rivercitybank.com.

July 1, 2018

River City Bank Launches New Clean Energy Division

Taking the lead in providing banking services for clean energy companies throughout California, River City Bank (RCB) recently launched its new Clean Energy Division. RCB has taken a bold step into this fast-growing space, earning an award from the City of Davis for its beneficial environmental quality contributions and dedication to helping Community Choice Aggregation (CCA) businesses provide locally-supported clean energy. With the launch of its new Clean Energy Division, RCB will continue to service its existing CCA clients and focus on expanding relationships with other players within the clean energy sector, all the while supporting California’s climate action goals.

“Seeing the positive impact of CCAs in California since the launch of Marin Clean Energy in 2010, we were able to gain first-mover advantage in this space,” said Steve Fleming, President and CEO of River City Bank. “Part of the reason for the launch of our new Clean Energy Division is the cultural fit between River City Bank and the CCAs. Specifically, CCA entities prefer to work with community banks which are committed to supporting renewable energy, consumer choice, and local decision making.”

Based in the Bay Area, Rosa Hilmarsdottir Cucicea, Vice President & Clean Energy Division Manager, is tasked to lead the charge. Over the past few years, Rosa has managed and grown the Bank’s clean energy portfolio.

Given its experience in the complexities and nuances of this specialized field, RCB is able to provide over a dozen CCA clients with custom-tailored solutions spanning start-up capital, lines of credit, renewable energy project financing and custodian “lockbox” accounts.

Click here to learn more about River City Bank’s Clean Energy services.

May 22, 2018

River City Bank announces new Clean Energy Division

Support of Clean Energy clients rooted in community-first values

SACRAMENTO, CA — May 22, 2018 — Taking the lead in providing banking services for clean energy companies throughout California, River City Bank has officially launched its new Clean Energy Division. The prominent business bank has taken a bold lead in this fast-growing space, and it has already earned an award from the City of Davis for its beneficial environmental quality contributions and dedication to helping Community Choice Aggregation (CCA) businesses provide locally-supported clean energy. With the launch of its new Clean Energy Division, River City Bank will continue to service its existing CCA clients and focus on expanding relationships with other players within the clean energy sector while supporting California’s climate action goals.

The Clean Energy Division will be based in the Bay Area under the leadership of Rosa Hilmarsdottir Cucicea, Vice President & Clean Energy Division Manager, who has managed and grown the Bank’s clean energy portfolio over the past few years. “I’m honored to play a role in making California a cleaner and greener place through the services we provide to CCAs and clean energy related companies,” said Cucicea.

River City Bank currently supports a number of clean energy clients, including depository, cash management and lending needs for 12 different CCAs. Notable clients include Valley Clean Energy in Yolo County, Clean Power Alliance in Los Angeles County, Marin Clean Energy and Monterey Bay Community Power. Given its experience in the complexities and nuances of this specialized field, River City Bank is able to provide CCA clients with custom-tailored solutions spanning start-up capital, lines of credit, renewable energy project financing and custodian “lockbox” accounts.

“When we looked for someone to help our business mature rapidly, River City Bank stood out for its track record for helping companies like ours navigate the nuances of the industry,” said Ted Bardacke, Executive Director of Clean Power Alliance. “Having direct access to CEO Steve Fleming and relying on Rosa’s team’s expertise is exactly what we need to become California’s largest CCA, with approximately one million eligible accounts.”

For its beneficial environmental quality contributions in the state related to Community Choice Aggregates, and specifically with Valley Clean Energy and the City of Davis, River City Bank was recently honored with a City of Davis 2018 Environmental Recognition Award by the Natural Resources Commission in the Business category.

July 11, 2017

Silicon Valley Clean Energy: Redefining Energy

After decades of dominance by electricity monopolies, California is experiencing the emergence of Community Choice Aggregators (CCAs), a new type of electricity provider that provides cities and counties the opportunity to choose what kinds of energy to purchase for their needs. CCA is a state policy that enables local governments to aggregate electricity demand within their jurisdictions in order to procure alternative energy supplies while maintaining the existing electricity provider for transmission and distribution services. On April 3, 2017, Silicon Valley Clean Energy (SVCE) commemorated its first official day of operation, supplying 100% carbon-free electricity to its customers in Silicon Valley. River City Bank was in attendance that day to celebrate SVCE’s launch and our banking partnership. We circled back with CEO, Tom Habashi, to find out more about SVCE and the important role they play in reducing the region’s carbon emissions.

How many customers does SVCE serve?

SVCE currently serves 240,000 residents in the area. SVCE, is a Joint Powers Authority (“JPA”) comprised of 11 municipalities located within the County of Santa Clara, as well as the unincorporated areas of the County itself. They have elected to allow SVCE to provide electric generation service within their respective jurisdictions.

SVCE just launched in April and is now supplying parts of the Silicon Valley with 100% carbon-free electricity. Were there any challenges you faced as you were trying to bring the program to fruition?

We knew we had to make sure our policies were in place, contracts were sound, and that we had set up a good foundation rather than building on quicksand. We learned from our predecessors and knew we needed to be better than the incumbent utility already in place.

The one problem we didn’t anticipate was how difficult it was to find office space in the Silicon Valley. For a time, we had trouble finding enough space that made sense for the organization. Luckily we found a great space in Sunnyvale.

What types of renewable sources does SVCE utilize and does it all come from California?

SVCE offers residents and businesses two main electricity choices. The default choice is GreenStart, which is 100 percent carbon-free. Under the GreenStart option, 50 percent of electricity comes from renewables such as wind and solar, while the other 50 percent comes from large-scale hydropower that we receive from the Upper Northwest. Customers currently pay 1% less for this option compared to the incumbent utility’s base plan with lower renewable content.

The other choice is GreenPrime, which is sourced from 100% renewables and is also 100% carbon free. GreenPrime is generated from 100% renewable, carbon-free sources, primarily from solar and wind farms in California and on the western grid. Buying GreenPrime further expands generation from these new and competitive renewable energy sources. Customers can choose to upgrade to GreenPrime for about $3 to $5 more per month. Customers enroll in Silicon Valley Clean Energy through an “opt-out” system. This means customers within SVCE’s service area receive alerts in the mail about switching to the agency, and they’re automatically switched over unless they choose to opt out.

SVCE is working on a program where 100% of the carbon free energy comes exclusively from California.

Why do you think more residents are leaning towards renewable energy and are willing to spend more to have greener options?

For many CCA customers, it actually saves them money. For example, SVCE GreenStart customers will pay 1% less than the incumbent utility’s current rates. With the opt-out option, customers are automatically enrolled and do not need to do a thing if they want cleaner, greener electricity, at a better price. For consumers, the benefits of the CCA are a no-brainer. They can choose to increase the amount of clean energy they use, thereby helping to reduce greenhouse gases and to reach, and even exceed, state and national clean-energy goals. CCA customers have also benefited from rebates on energy efficiency upgrades.

On another level, more and more communities are coming together to be a part of a solution to ease carbon emissions. They realize that it affects all of us, our children, and grandchildren.

California is experiencing the emergence of CCAs. Do you see more and more communities moving towards clean energy?

More and more communities are demanding more renewable energy options. California’s push for cleaner energy has been driven by a desire to limit greenhouse gas emissions from fossil fuels, which are the primary driver of climate change. Locally-governed public agencies like SVCE allow participating communities to reinvest revenues to keep rates low, provide energy efficiency programs, and promote a cleaner energy infrastructure.

Because of the success of CCAs, more and more communities are aching to take the leap and have environmental and energy stewardship over their regions.

What advances have you seen in renewable energy?

Energy storage has been a hot topic in the last couple of years. It is needed to store solar energy at night or wind power on days when there is no breeze. Energy storage plays an important role in this balancing act and helps to create a more flexible and reliable grid system. There are a number of technology choices available, but the cost of energy storage is still a concern. Solar energy has recently dropped in price by ~40%, but the question remains if it would be more profitable to simply add more generating capacity rather than more storage capacity. California, where there is already strong public policy support for renewable energy, is the undisputed king of US energy storage. However, in other places around the country, there is the need to stimulate technological improvement in storage to encourage further growth.

There are many other banks out there. What made SVCE choose RCB?

River City Bank was there for us from day one. We’ve seen them help other CCAs get their financing, even when it was unchartered territory. River City Bank had the experience and understanding for what CCAs encounter at various stages of financing and banking needs. They put together an offer that made sense for us and we were compelled to work with a community based bank with similar values. Steve (Fleming) and Rosa (Cucicea) were able to come up with solutions for our issues, helping us get through all the roadblocks we encountered and enable us to get the funding and banking services needed to launch SVCE. River City Bank’s experience and knowledge in the renewable energy industry is second to none.

To find out more about SVCE, visit their website at ww.svcleanenergy.org.

October 30, 2015

Client Profile: Marin Clean Energy

Marin Clean Energy (MCE) was founded in 2008 and began serving customers in 2010 within the area of Marin County. MCE’s mission is to address climate change by reducing energy related greenhouse gas emissions and securing energy supply, price stability, energy efficiency and local economic and workforce benefits. With the leadership and vision of CEO, Dawn Weisz, MCE now serves over 170,000 customers in Marin County, unincorporated Napa County, the cities of Benicia, El Cerrito, Richmond, and San Pablo. As a not-for-profit utility, MCE gives its customers, the opportunity to have between half and all their electricity needs supplied by solar, wind, hydroelectric, biogas and renewable resources at competitive rates.

MCE is California’s first Community Choice Aggregation (CCA) program. Back in 2002, the California State Legislature passed Assembly Bill 117, enabling CCAs. This legislation made it possible for communities to form companies to purchase power on behalf of their residents and businesses, completely supported by customer revenues, rather than taxpayer subsidies. Increased local control allowed elected officials to participate in the decision making and weigh in on supply contracts, customer pricing, etc.. AB 117 enabled California to join the small but growing number of states allowing CCAs. More importantly, the bill mandated that customers be automatically enrolled in their local CCA, with an option to opt out should they want to stay with the incumbent utility.

As a pioneer for CCAs in California, MCE has an impressive track record over its initial 5+ years of operations and continues to lead the charge in lobbying for renewable energy at our State Capitol. However, as Weisz admits, the journey was not without a few hiccups along the way. At first, educating the community seemed a daunting task. Prior to MCE’s launch, everything was speculative as there was no model for a CCA in California. For many, switching from a provider of reliable electricity seemed risky from both a service and financial perspective. Throughout, MCE stayed the course and continued to educate the community on its choices. The message was simple: The power provided still flows through the incumbent utility’s grid and consumers continue to be billed through the incumbent utility. The only difference is the source of power which has a greater content of renewable sources. There was no extra effort needed from the consumer, and so the transition to cleaner power and more energy savings was seamless from its customers’ perspective. With the environmental benefits and natural appeal of freedom of choice, support for MCE quickly followed.

Initially, MCE’s goal was to have 25% of its area’s power come from renewable energy. Along with her team, Weisz helped MCE negotiate and enter into power purchase agreements to double the amount of renewable energy for its customers. The end result: more clean energy, while keeping pricing low. Now at 50% renewable energy servicing the area, customers are reaping the rewards.

Head shot of Dawn Weisz, CEO of Marin Clean Energy

Dawn Weisz, CEO of Marin Clean Energy (MCE)

People who live in MCE’s service area are automatically enrolled in the “Light Green” energy program. The “Light Green” program is comprised of 50% renewable energy from sources such as solar, wind, bioenergy, geothermal, and small hydro. By default, customers can take advantage of cleaner, greener energy, at a cost savings over standard incumbent utility rates. With a base rate that is cheaper and cleaner than traditional utility companies, MCE saved its customers $5.4 million in 2014 and is slated to increase customer savings to over $10 million in 2015.

Residents or business customers who have the resources and desire to do more for the environment can upgrade to MCE’s Deep Green program. With Deep Green, all of the power purchased by customers comes from 100% non-polluting, Green-e certified wind power. Green-e is the nation’s leading independent certification and verification program for voluntary renewable energy purchases. Deep Green costs only a penny more per kilowatt-hour than Light Green rates, so for most residential customers, the additional cost averages less than $5 per month. In addition to slashing their carbon footprint, customers who opt for 100% renewable energy also support the development of new, local renewable-energy projects; half of the revenue from the Deep Green premium is directed to a local renewable-development fund for projects such as the MCE Solar 1 Project in Richmond, a 10.5 megawatt solar installation. Other local renewable projects will support MCE’s Local Sol program, another 100% clean energy choice, which draws its power from local solar installations. In addition to reducing greenhouse gases, solar projects such as MCE Solar 1, which is scheduled for completion in 2016, have helped with local job production.

With the support of River City Bank, MCE has become a success for its customers, the environment and the local economy. In May, Marin Clean Energy celebrated its fifth year in business. Throughout its entire existence, River City Bank is proud to have been MCE’s bank of choice.

“We have had an extremely positive relationship with River City Bank,” said Dawn Weisz, CEO of Marin Clean Energy. “The size and nimbleness of the bank made it a perfect fit. There is a strong level of service and trust with the management. We also enjoy having direct access to decision makers.”

“At River City Bank, we help clients like MCE realize their vision,” says CEO and President, Steve Fleming. “Delivering exceptional service and a commitment to our clients and communities is what fuels our organization.”