Sean Neill

Barriers to Energy Efficiency in Existing Buildings and Innovative Solution

The talk describes the three major barriers to energy efficiency in privately owned buildings: mortgage restrictions on additional debt, the split incentive whereby tenants get operating savings, and lack of credit market access or willingness to issue debt on the part of private institutions. It goes on to discuss an innovative solution, a Managed Energy Services Agreement that can retrofit property without liens or debt that would violate a mortgage or affect a credit rating.