The transition to a low-carbon economy requires significant investment, yet many renewable energy projects still struggle to secure financing. While large-scale infrastructure attracts major investors, smaller and mid-sized projects are often overlooked despite their environmental and economic value. Climate First Bank was created to address this gap, offering a model for how targeted, mission-driven finance can better support the clean energy transition.
Founded in 2021 with a mission to finance environmental sustainability, the Florida-based bank has grown rapidly, reaching nearly USD 1.8 billion in assets within five years. Its growth reflects increasing demand for financial institutions that combine commercial banking with a clear environmental purpose. Climate First Bank offers a model for addressing this gap by combining community banking principles with specialised climate finance expertise.
Climate First Bank: relationship-based climate finance
Climate First Bank has built its model around financing projects that support the clean energy transition while maintaining the relationship-based approach traditionally associated with community banking.
The bank works with homeowners, businesses, developers, and renewable energy companies to finance projects such as solar installations, battery storage systems, and energy-efficient developments. Instead of focusing only on large-scale projects, it has developed expertise supporting the “messy middle” of the market: projects too complex for traditional lenders but too small to attract major institutional finance.
These projects typically sit between relatively straightforward residential or commercial solar loans and large-scale developments of over USD 100 million that draw major investors. Often ranging between USD 15–20 million, they can be just as complex as larger deals, requiring multiple layers of federal, state, or local subsidies alongside several financing partners to become viable.
Battery storage is a key example of both the value and complexity of these projects. Energy prices fluctuate constantly throughout the day, and utilities must ensure supply meets demand at all times. During peak periods, such as hot summer afternoons when electricity use surges, prices can rise sharply, creating strong demand for storage solutions. However, the technical and financial complexity of these systems makes them particularly challenging to finance.
One of the bank’s significant achievements is residential solar lending. Through its OneEthos platform, Climate First Bank has made solar financing more transparent and affordable for homeowners. More than 5,000 solar consultants use the platform, facilitating about USD 275 million in residential solar loans across 44 states in 2025 alone.
Expanding access to renewable energy finance
A major challenge in the renewable energy sector is not just capital availability but financial institutions’ ability to understand and assess emerging technologies and business models.
Climate First Bank has invested heavily in developing this expertise. Its lending teams work closely with project developers to understand the financial, technical, and regulatory realities behind solar and battery storage projects. This allows the bank to finance projects that may otherwise struggle to move forward.
“We need partnerships to do this work.” (Hana Freymiller, Director of Energy Project Finance, Climate First Bank)
The bank has partnered with organisations like local green banks to expand access to renewable energy solutions for low- and moderate-income households. These partnerships reduce barriers to clean energy adoption and ensure the benefits of the energy transition reach more communities.
Impact through partnerships
Climate First Bank recognises no single institution can meet growing climate finance demand alone. As renewable energy markets expand, the bank focuses more on sharing its expertise with other community and regional banks.
By encouraging co-financing and opening its solar lending platform to other lenders, Climate First Bank helps build a broader ecosystem of institutions financing clean energy projects. This collaborative approach lets successful models be replicated and scaled beyond any one bank’s reach.
In doing so, Climate First Bank demonstrates how values-based banking can play a practical role in addressing climate change. By combining local relationships, specialised expertise, and a long-term commitment to sustainability, the bank is helping direct capital toward projects that support both economic development and environmental progress.
Source: NextCity
