Rocky Hill, CT (April 13, 2020) – The Connecticut Green Bank, working in collaboration with local community banks and credit unions, is helping connect small businesses to lenders supporting the state’s clean energy industry to access federal assistance programs during the COVID-19 pandemic. Last week, the Office of Governor Ned Lamont, the Connecticut Green Bank, the Department of Energy and Environmental Protection (DEEP), the Department of Economic and Community Development (DECD), Eversource, and Avangrid wrapped up a series of informational webinars for small businesses in the clean energy industry on state and federal aid, including unemployment insurance and the CARES Act’s Paycheck Protection Program

“Connecticut’s clean energy industry, which has taken decades to build, is suffering the negative impacts of this pandemic,” said Vicki Hackett, Deputy Commissioner of DEEP.  “It’s critical that we act swiftly to help our small businesses and workforce in the clean energy industry understand and access state and federal relief so that, as the current crisis subsides, they are ready and able to contribute to Connecticut’s economic recovery.”

On Friday, March 27, Congress passed, and the President signed the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act, a $2 trillion emergency stimulus bill to address the economy-wide impacts of COVID-19.  Included in the CARES Act is $349 billion to help small businesses stay open and provide direct incentive for them to keep their workers on the payroll through the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP).

“In order to continue our outreach, and to provide further assistance to Connecticut’s clean energy businesses, we approached our local community banks and credit unions that support the Smart-E Loan program,” stated Bryan Garcia, President and CEO of the Connecticut Green Bank. “A few of the Smart-E Loan program lenders are also lenders supporting the CARES Act, which is great because they can provide direct assistance for those small businesses that may or may not have a direct relationship with a financial institution that is eligible to lend under the Paycheck Protection Program.”

Although the PPP is a large federal emergency assistance program to help small businesses manage through the COVID-19 pandemic, Connecticut businesses are encouraged to act now to secure access to these funds. “Connecticut’s businesses should, if they haven’t done so already, look into the Paycheck Protection Program, as a way to help them manage through this crisis,” says Jorge Perez, Commissioner of the Connecticut Department of Banking  “Our local community banks and credit unions are here to assist you.”

The following Smart-E Loan program lenders are supporting applications to the Paycheck Protection Program:

Supporting existing and new clients:

• CorePlus Credit Union
• Ion Bank
• Nutmeg State Financial Credit Union

Supporting existing clients only:

• Union Savings Bank

“We are working hard to help the community during this unprecedented time. Our ability to lend through the SBA and offer assistance with the Paycheck Protection Program have been really valuable to businesses in the community,” said Nutmeg Credit Union CEO John Holt.

Administered by the Green Bank in partnership with nine local lenders (community banks, credit unions and a community development financial institution), the Smart-E Loan offers long-term, low-cost financing for more than 40 qualifying energy improvements. A network of over 500 eligible local contractors completes these upgrades, including insulation, windows, efficient heating and cooling, electric vehicle home charging stations, and solar systems.