EECA are inviting expressions of interest for a new energy savings contingent finance initiative.
It’s a funding approach where the cost of an energy efficiency upgrade is repaid entirely from the actual cost savings it delivers. Repayments are based on measured and verified energy reductions, so if savings are lower than expected, repayments are reduced accordingly.
The initiative will support New Zealand businesses to implement efficiency upgrades with no upfront capital, by using structured energy savings contingent finance, repaid through verified energy savings, alongside full project management, installation, and measurement and verification services.
How the initiative would work
Many businesses in New Zealand are ready to upgrade outdated, high-energy equipment or improve energy efficiency but are blocked by cost, capital availability, or internal investment priorities. This approach creates a cash-flow-positive pathway to modernise energy use and reduce consumption — with little or no upfront capital.
Repayments are linked to measured and verified cost savings generated from energy efficiency improvements. This means businesses can implement energy-saving projects without upfront capital, while having the project fully managed, the equipment installed, and the savings independently verified.
At this stage we are inviting businesses and 'providers' (organisations that can deliver the complete process including arranging and supplying energy savings contingent finance, managing and installing the energy efficiency upgrades, and providing measurement and verification of the resulting savings) to register their interest in this initiative.
We will gather information to assess the level and nature of market interest via a formal RFI process — one for providers and one for businesses.
Following this, we will publish a list of providers on our website and facilitate connections by sharing businesses’ contact information with the relevant providers.
This is an information-gathering exercise only, not a request for proposals, pricing, or commercial offers.
You can register your interest via the Request for Information (RFI) below, with no obligation or cost.
Benefits for businesses and providers:
- For businesses, the RFI simply identifies you as interested in alternative financing, which would enable you to install energy efficiency or upgrade projects with no or little upfront CAPEX, have the project managed from start to finish, repay costs only from verified energy savings and retain part of those savings immediately.
- For providers, it offers the chance to connect with New Zealand businesses ready to act but needing the right energy savings financial mechanisms, be considered for inclusion on an EECA-published list of energy savings contingent finance providers, and help remove a key barrier to energy efficiency.
Is this initiative the right fit for you?
Businesses
We are looking for businesses in the commercial and industrial sector that:
- operate energy-intensive equipment or processes
- are exploring energy-saving or demand-reduction projects
- would consider an energy savings contingent finance solution
- may be limited by capital access or competing priorities.
By registering interest, businesses will help us gauge market demand, identify common business needs in order to upgrade, and facilitate a connection with providers to accelerate uptake.
Providers
We are after information from providers about solutions that:
- require little or no upfront capital from businesses
- link repayments to measured and verified energy savings
- enable cost-effective energy efficiency or energy upgrade projects without disrupting existing investment plans
- support businesses without traditional lending access.
We want to understand current and emerging structured energy savings contingent finance offerings, including the types of businesses or projects they support, their eligibility criteria and standard terms, and EECA’s potential role in enabling or scaling them.
