Nick Gower and other consultants presented practical financing approaches county leaders could use to move projects from planning into implementation.

Gower introduced the "resilient capital stack" idea — layering grants, philanthropic capital, green‑bank loans, public bonds and private investment to reduce project risk and attract lenders. He cited case studies where communities combined grants with energy‑savings performance contracts to retrofit public buildings with no net annual cost to operations.

Speakers suggested short‑term county actions: identify high‑impact pilot projects that can be packaged for finance (municipal fleet electrification, wastewater‑methane recovery, school composting), explore regional green‑bank or community‑loan programs (noting an emerging "Electrify Triangle" initiative), and create a simplified grant program for community‑based organizations to run outreach and small projects.

The advisory committee and staff agreed to gather local examples and RFPs, and to include financing partners and green‑bank concepts in the scoping materials for a consultant.