Virginia Law

A. The Bank shall:

1. Advise the Director on the management of the Bank pursuant to this article;

2. Apply for and accept gifts, grants, aid, and donations from any source to be expended in furtherance of accomplishing the objectives of the Bank. All federal funding accepted under this subdivision shall be accepted and expended by the Bank in accordance with such terms and conditions as are prescribed by the United States and are consistent with state law, and all state funding accepted under this subdivision shall be accepted and expended in accordance with such terms and conditions as prescribed by the Commonwealth;

3. Seek to qualify as a state energy financing institution as defined in 42 U.S.C. § 16511;

4. Serve as a financial resource to reduce the upfront and total costs of implementing qualified projects;

5. Ensure that all financed projects reduce or do not contribute to greenhouse gas emissions and that no more than 15 percent in the aggregate of available funds are used to finance projects involving coalbed methane gas, as such term is defined in § 45.2-1600, or nuclear power;

6. Ensure that financing terms and conditions offered are well suited to qualified projects;

7. Strategically prioritize the use of the Bank's funds to leverage private investment in qualified projects, with the aim of achieving a high ratio of private to public money invested through funding mechanisms that support, enhance, and complement private lending and investment;

8. Coordinate with existing federal, state, local, utility, and other programs to ensure that the Bank's resources are being used most effectively to add to and complement those programs;

9. Stimulate demand for qualified projects by (i) contracting with the Department to provide, including through subcontracts with community navigators, information to project participants about federal, state, local, utility, and other Bank financial assistance for qualifying projects and technical information on energy conservation and renewable energy measures; (ii) forming partnerships with contractors and informing contractors about the Bank's financing programs; (iii) developing innovative marketing strategies to stimulate project owner interest, especially in underserved communities; and (iv) incentivizing financing entities to increase activity in underserved markets;

10. Finance projects in all regions of the Commonwealth;

11. Develop participant eligibility standards and other terms and conditions for financial support provided by the Bank;

12. Develop and administer (i) policies to collect reasonable fees for Bank services and (ii) risk management activities to support ongoing Bank activities;

13. Develop consumer protection standards governing the Bank's investments to ensure that financial support is provided responsibly and transparently and is in the financial interest of participating project owners;

14. Develop methods to accurately measure the impact of the Bank's activities, particularly on low-income communities and on greenhouse gas emissions reductions;

15. Hire sufficient staff with the appropriate skills and qualifications to carry out the Bank's programs, making an affirmative effort to recruit and hire staff who are from, or share the interests of, the communities the Bank is required to serve;

16. Acting under its powers as a state energy financing institution under 42 U.S.C. § 16511, collaborate with the U.S. Department of Energy Loan Programs Office to ensure that authorities made available under the federal Inflation Reduction Act of 2022, P.L. 117-169, maximally benefit Virginians;

17. Ensure that Bank contracts with all third-party administrators, contractors, and subcontractors contain required covenants, representations, and warranties specifying that contracted third parties are agents of the Bank and that all acts of contracted third parties are considered acts of the Bank, provided that the act is within the contracted scope of work; and

18. Undertake such other activities as are necessary to carry out the provisions of this article.

C. In carrying out its powers and duties pursuant to this article, the Bank may:

1. Employ credit enhancement mechanisms that reduce financial risk for financing entities by providing assurance that a limited portion of a loan or other financial instrument is assumed by the Bank via a loan loss reserve, loan guarantee, or other mechanism;

2. Co-invest in a qualified project by providing senior or subordinated debt, equity, or other mechanisms in conjunction with other investment, co-lending, or financing;

3. Aggregate small and geographically dispersed qualified projects in order to diversify risk or secure additional private investment through securitization or similar resale of the Bank's interest in a completed qualified project; and

4. Expend funds appropriated to the Bank for start-up purposes, which may be used for financing programs and project investments authorized under this article, prior to adoption of the strategic plan required pursuant to § 45.2-118 and the investment strategy required pursuant to § 45.2-119.

2026, cc. 1125, 1126.