Mission and history
The purpose of the Minnesota Climate Innovation Finance Authority (MnCIFA)
is to accelerate deployment of clean energy projects through innovative green financing.
Why does Minnesota need green financing?
The Minnesota Climate Innovation Finance Authority supports our state's clean energy economy by expanding financing options for clean energy projects. The purpose of MnCIFA is to accelerate deployment of clean energy projects through innovative green financing.
We make strategic use of public funds through innovative financing mechanisms in order to leverage existing public and private sources of capital. Our flexible financing serves to reduce upfront and total costs of clean energy projects, especially in low-income communities, ensuring that all Minnesotans share the benefits of clean and renewable energy.
Climate
We tackle challenges of Minnesota’s changing climate by:
- Building our state’s clean energy economy
- Helping communities prepare for more extreme weather
- Transitioning Minnesota to a future where energy is more affordable and reliable, safer and cleaner
Innovation
We offer innovative financing that:
- Fills the gaps in financing for clean energy projects
- Leverages private, public and nonprofit investments
- Emphasizes capital for underserved markets and communities most challenged by our changing climate
- Overcomes barriers to finance projects, offers innovative financing and flexible interest rates
Finance Authority
We offer flexible financing for projects that meet certain qualifications such as:
- Loans (not grants) with financial ability to repay
- Minimum $250,000 loan, with option for intermediaries
- Site jobs paid prevailing wage
- Demonstrated benefits for the community
History
MnCIFA was created in state law 2023 as a publicly accountable financing authority commonly known in other states as a “green bank.”
Key provisions of MnCIFA’s statutory requirements:
Subd. 4. Authority duties:
- Serve as a financial resource to reduce the upfront and total costs of implementing qualified projects;
- Ensure that all financed projects reduce greenhouse gas emissions;
- Ensure that financing terms and conditions offered are well-suited to qualified projects;
- Strategically prioritize the use of the authority'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;
- Coordinate with existing federal, state, local, utility, and other programs to ensure that the authority's resources are being used most effectively to add to and complement those programs;
More info: Minn.Stat. 216C.411