Clean Energy Works began in 2009 as a pilot program run by the City of Portland. In 2010, the U.S. Department of Energy awarded $20 million to create a statewide nonprofit to expand the program beyond Portland and serve thousands of homeowners in urban, suburban and rural Oregon. Clean Energy Works Oregon also has funding from the State of Oregon, local governments, workforce investment boards and national foundations to support its efforts. The goal of Clean Energy Works Oregon is to finance energy efficiency retrofits for approximately 6,000 homes throughout Oregon, by offering a one-stop program for whole-home energy upgrades. The program is available statewide, including Clackamas, Crook, Deschutes, Jackson, Josephine, Jefferson, Hood River, Klamath, Lake, Multnomah and Washington Counties.

Through Clean Energy Works, homeowners can finance up to $30,000 at a fixed interest rate for home energy efficiency retrofits for a variety of measures. Customers have varying lender and loan options depending on where they live.  In most cases in the Portland metro area, the loan is repaid on heating or utility bills. To participate in Clean Energy Works Oregon, homeowners must submit an application and be approved to participate, have an energy assessment performed to prioritize energy efficiency improvements, and then decide on the energy efficiency improvements and a financing option. The on-bill financing mechanism was originally authorized by Oregon’s Energy Efficiency and Sustainable Technology Act of 2009 (HB 2626)

SB 5703 authorized an additional $5 million in lottery revenue bond proceeds in 2014, bringing the total funding from the State to $10 million for the 2013-2015. The State expects this funding will be sufficient to transition Clean Energy Works to a fully independent program, supported by its own business model. It does not anticipate providing additional funding to Clean Energy Works in the future.