The Connecticut Green Bank is a private bank established within, and partially funded by, the State of Connecticut to support the development of environmentalist projects such as weather-dependent energy. The Bank collaborates with similar left-of-center groups including the Coalition for Green Capital.  ^{1  2  3}

Background

The Connecticut Green Bank was established by the Connecticut General Assembly in July 2011 through Public Act 11-80. The Bank was developed as a “quasi-public agency” and replaced the state government’s Connecticut Clean Energy Fund. The Bank was created to support the development of weather-dependent energy projects within the state.  ^{1 2 3}

The Bank is mandated to direct at least 40 percent of its investments toward “vulnerable communities,” primarily low-income communities. ⁴

Activities

Between its establishment in 2011 and 2025, the Connecticut Green Bank and its private partners invested $3.11 billion in weather-dependent energy and other environmentalist projects within the state. The Bank claims that for every $1 invested through its efforts, $6.70 in economic value was created for the state. ¹

In 2012, the Bank launched the Residential Solar Investment program, which provides rebates to homeowners who purchase solar panels. Since the program’s start, as of September 2025, $1.43 billion has been invested in solar production with $156 million spent by the Bank on rebates. In 2013, the Bank launched its First Solarize Campaign, and by 2021, the program had impacted 43,000 homes. ^{2 5}

In 2014, the Bank launched a C-Pace (Commercial Property Assessed Clean Energy) program, which provides loans to individuals and businesses to develop weather-dependent energy production on their property. By 2018, the C-Pace program had invested $100 million. By 2020, the C-Pace program reached 100 projects. ²

By 2015, the Bank had facilitated $1 billion in private investment. ²

By 2017, the Bank had received $186 million in state funding, created nearly 12,000 jobs, and increased weather-dependent energy production in Connecticut by 200 MW. ³

In 2022, the Bank’s mandate was expanded to developing “environmental infrastructure” and combating climate change. ²

Inflation Reduction Act

The Connecticut Green Bank was a major beneficiary of the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) backed by President Joe Biden. The Bank received funding through the Environmental Protection Agency’s Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund to support green banking across the country. Other funding channels came from the IRA through programs at the U.S. Department of Energy, the U.S. Department of the Treasury, and the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. ⁶

Controversy

In July 2022, the Materials Innovation and Recycling Authority (MIRA) trash-burning waste-to-energy facility was shut down in Hartford, Connecticut over environmental concerns. In response, in July 2023, the Connecticut legislature updated the Green Bank charter so that “municipal solid waste” was removed from the charter’s list of materials that could not be classified as “clean energy” when burned. The Sierra Club released a statement accusing the charter’s change of being a means of the Bank to create new waste-burning investments to recover from the state’s loss of MIRA and thus in violation of the Bank’s intent to promote weather-dependent energy production.  ⁷

Leadership

Bryan Garcia is the president, CEO, and board chairman of the Connecticut Green Bank. Garcia also chairs the Coalition for Green Capital board, and sits on the boards of the Energy Foundation and the Center for Sustainable Energy. Prior to this, Garcia was a program director for the Yale Center for Business and the Environment; served as Connecticut’s climate change coordinator, where he supported the Governor’s Steering Committee on Climate Change; and was a U.S. Peace Corps volunteer in Kazakhstan. ^{8 9}

1. “About Us.” Connecticut Green Bank. Accessed September 23, 2025. https://www.ctgreenbank.com/about-us/.
2. “Our History.” Connecticut Green Bank. Accessed September 23, 2025. https://www.ctgreenbank.com/about-us/our-history/.
3. “Connecticut Green Bank – Organization Fact Sheet.” Coalition for Green Capital. Accessed September 23, 2025. https://coalitionforgreencapital.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/04/CT-Green-Bank-Org-Fact-Sheet.pdf.
4. “Mission, Vision, and Values.” Connecticut Green Bank. Accessed September 23, 2025. https://www.ctgreenbank.com/about-us/mission-vision-and-values/.
5. “Residential Solar Investment Program.” Connecticut Green Bank. Accessed September 23, 2025. https://www.ctgreenbank.com/strategy-impact/societal-impact/successful-legacy-programs/residential-solar-investment-program-rsip/.
6. “Engagement on Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act and Inflation Reduction Act – Public Comments and More.” Connecticut Green Bank. Accessed September 23, 2025. https://www.ctgreenbank.com/engagement-on-iija-ira/#toggle-id-1.
7. Spiegel, Jan Ellen. “Is the Connecticut Green Bank still green?.” CT Mirror. July 6, 2023. Accessed September 23, 2025. https://ctmirror.org/2023/07/06/ct-green-bank-waste-to-energy-technology-funding-municipal-solid-waste/.
8. “Bryan Garcia.” Connecticut Green Bank. Accessed September 23, 2025. https://www.ctgreenbank.com/portfolio-item/bryan-garcia/.
9. Johnson, Lamar. “First national U.S. green bank launches with IRA funding.” ESG Dive. August 23, 2024. Accessed September 23, 2025. https://www.esgdive.com/news/coalition-for-green-capital-opens-first-national-us-green-bank-climate-law-funding-ira/725121/.