Efficiency Capital Corp. and Institutional Investors

Mike Vinokur: It a rare opportunity to do something good and make money off it, said company president Mike Vinokur, adding it will be a bridge between building owners and purveyors of technology to cut energy costs, according to The Toronto Star. He won’t say what the rate of return is for its institutional investors, but says it is higher than government or corporate bonds. Efficiency Capital Corp. has just launched as a for-profit company, with the goal to finance $100 million in energy efficiency retrofits over the next five years. The idea comes from the Toronto Atmospheric Fund . This city agency, armed with the goal of financing local initiatives to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, pioneered the investment tool. Instead, the owners pay back the cost of the capital investments over the length of a contract, usually eight to 10 years, through the energy savings reaped. It has financed a number of retrofits — where the building owners don’t put up any cash for capital projects — at the Harbourfront Centre, six YMCA buildings and an Etobicoke housing co-op. (news.financializer.com). As reported in the news.