Bridge Bank kicks off new group for renewable energy finance

Bridge-bank

Bridge Bank kicks off new group for renewable energy finance


By Greentech Lead Team: Bridge Bank has launched its Energy and Infrastructure Group
(EIG) to finance sustainable alternative energy projects in the United States.

EIG will operate from the bank’s
Silicon Valley headquarters.

“Bridge Bank was founded to
serve all sectors of Silicon Valley and the broader technology business
community, which is continuously being reshaped by new innovation,” said
Daniel P. Myers, president and chief executive officer of Bridge Bank.

The setting up of the new Energy and
Infrastructure Group is reinforcement of the bank’s commitment to serving the
changing needs of businesses and support the nation’s goal of greater energy
independence with economically sound alternative energy ventures.

Many clean-tech supply chain and
development companies, contractors and other small- to mid-size firms remain
largely underserved by financial institutions and other debt providers.

Bridge Bank is keen to fund
developers and solar companies. It will also play the role of an advisor to the
firms seeking entry into this emerging market.

The new Energy and Infrastructure
Group will be led by Scott Reising, senior vice president at Bridge Bank.

Reising, who joined the bank in
August 2011, has an extensive background in energy project design, development,
implementation, and finance, and has been involved in over $20 billion of
structured finance transactions in various sectors, including solar, wind,
bio-fuels and hydro-power.

“Well-established developers
working on large scale projects have many choices for financing, but for
developers who are working on smaller projects in the one to five megawatt
range, there are very few options,” said Reising.

EIG will lend to companies with
projects in the installation phase, and provide liquidity options for
government incentives in addition to permanent phase financing.

Nearly $85 million in loans and
credit commitments has been extended by the bank to firms engaging in renewable
energy and solar projects.

“We believe that the segment
EIG will serve represents a $5 billion market, with annual growth projected at
about 20 percent. If the federal government intensifies its effort to reach
energy independence, those numbers are likely to increase substantially,” said
Dan Pistone, senior vice president and manager of the bank’s Technology Banking
Group.


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