Climate Tech Finance Financial Consultant

The Bay Area Air Quality Management District (Air District) seeks a financial consultant who will provide financial development support services for the Climate Tech Finance (CTF) Program including ongoing deal sourcing, deal development, and project management of CTF loan guarantees.

The Air District established the CTF Program in 2018 to scale up technologies that reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. This program provides financial and technical support to small businesses, entrepreneurs, and lenders to encourage commercialization of climate technologies. The program's overall goal is to accelerate climate technologies and practices that deliver measurable GHG reductions in the state of California. CTF helps entrepreneurs secure debt financing for equipment, project implementation, or working capital from lenders. The program encourages lenders to lend to climate entrepreneurs by offering a loan guarantee of up to 80% of the eligible loan amount. The loans can be up to $20 million, with a maximum guarantee of $5 million and up to seven years term.

Through this Request for Proposals (RFP) process, the Air District anticipates entering into contract with one (1) firm to provide financial development support services to begin services in October 2026. The anticipated duration of the contract will be for a period of up to five (5) years. The Air District, at its sole discretion, will determine the initial duration of the contract and any subsequent extensions.

The Air District is the government agency responsible for protecting air quality in the San Francisco Bay Area. The Air District is tasked with regulating stationary sources of air pollution in the nine counties that surround San Francisco Bay: Alameda, Contra Costa, Marin, Napa, San Francisco, San Mateo, Santa Clara, southwestern Solano, and southern Sonoma counties. It is governed by a 24-member Board of Directors composed of locally elected officials from each of the nine counties. The Air District’s mission is to improve air quality to protect public health, reduce historical and current environmental inequities, and mitigate climate change and its impacts.

The Air District aims to achieve its mission through many strategic goals, including: reducing and eliminating health problems caused by air pollution, achieving and maintaining air quality standards, leading the Bay Area’s efforts to fight global climate change, creating high-quality regulatory programs, and applying environmental best practices in all operations. To do so, the Air District regulates air pollution emissions from stationary emission sources such as factories, refineries, and power plants, and from smaller facilities like gas stations and dry cleaners. The Air District ensures that such facilities comply with air pollution laws and regulations, provides incentives to replace older, higher-emitting vehicles and equipment with cleaner alternatives, and gives grants and provides outreach to encourage healthy clean air choices by businesses and consumers. The Air District implements these efforts with an equity focus, aiming to reduce air quality disparities and promote environmental justice by targeting local air pollution in overburdened communities.