First Green Foundation to offer grants to help fund energy efficient improvements — solar panels

MOUNT DORA, Fla. --- The First Green Foundation plans to offer cash grants to help fund energy-efficient improvements to homes and businesses in Lake County.

Kenneth LaRoe, chairman and chief executive officer of First Green Bank, said the First Green Foundation will offer grants of $1,000 per installation to home owners, and $2,000 to businesses, who add solar power and $500 to home owners or businesses who add solar hot water, significantly increasing the energy efficiency of homes and businesses.

“Our mission at the First Green Foundation is to apply some of our assets---moral, human and financial---to encourage alternate energy, water conservation and community supported agriculture,” LaRoe said.

LaRoe said he expects to fund as many as 20 “green” improvement projects this year and he hopes the grants program will blossom.

“We are starting small, but we expect to grow, and we expect to have an impact on our community that goes beyond providing the best community banking services and products we can create,” LaRoe said.

First Green Bank posted an annual profit of $543,000 for 2011, the culmination of 22 consecutive months of profitability.

Last month, the U.S. Treasury Department cited First Green Bank as one of the 10 U.S. banks with the greatest increase in small business lending since 2010: up 139 percent to $72 million.