Qualified Energy Conservation Bonds (QECBs)

Originally authorized by Congress in 2008 in the Energy Improvement and Extension Act (ESIA), Qualified Energy Conservations Bonds (QECBs) were a federally subsidized bond available to qualified states, local, and tribal issuers.  Congress designed QECBs to be a low-cost public financing for eligible energy efficiency, renewable energy, and mass commuting projects.

The original legislation authorized $800 million of QECBs nationwide and increased funding in 2009 through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) to $3.2 billion.  The California Debt Limit Allocation Committee (CDLAC) determines bond allocation for California, QECB allocation may be found here https://www.treasurer.ca.gov/cdlac/applications/qecb_allocations.pdf.

The California Alternative Energy and Advanced Transportation Financing Authority (CAEATFA) was the main state issuer of QECBs.  The bonds provided a rate savings for the purchaser, allowing the public entity to receive low-interest financing upon the sale of the bonds.  For example, if the credit amount was $100 and the bondholder was in the 30 percent tax bracket, the credit provided a $79 benefit to the bondholder.

QECBs were used for projects that reduced energy consumption in publicly owned buildings, implementing green community programs, rural development involving the production of electricity from renewable energy resources, technologies that capture and sequestration of carbon dioxide produced by fossil fuels, technologies that reduce energy use, and more.

On December 22, 2017, President Trump signed the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act into law.  This resulted in the elimination of any unused authority for QECBs as of January 1, 2018. 

There is no QECB Volume Cap Allocation available from the State of California.