Finding opportunities for conservation improvements is easier than finding the money to make those improvements.  While many efficiencies yield a positive payoff after a certain amount of time, some property owners may not have access to the necessary capital, or may not expect to own the property long enough to recoup their costs.  Even if a buyer can negotiate a lower price based on an energy audit, the savings gained through that negotiation are not available as capital to make improvements.  

New funding mechanisms are needed that can convert the energy and financial savings in “out years” into capital for making the improvements.  New requirements for least cost procurement will create a market for the energy savings from conservation improvements.  Energy service contractors will seek to tap this market by making conservation improvements for public, corporate, and institutional consumers, and then selling those energy savings on the least cost procurement market.  However, it is not likely that this model will trickle down to individual property owners for some time, despite the potential savings that might be gained from large numbers of modest improvements. 

7.a    The Division of Energy Efficiency should convene a working group to investigate financing tools to for energy efficiency improvements

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