With the country reeling in 2008 from the financial crisis, Congress created a special program to help struggling local governments finance clean energy projects. Under the initiative, cities and counties could sell bonds to pay for a new wind farm or energy efficient windows at City Hall, and the federal government would help pick up the tab.

But hardly anyone bit. Even as state and local governments struggle to meet higher green energy standards with ever-shrinking budgets, billions of dollars of so-called Qualified Energy Conservation Bonds have gone unused. As of May 3, only about 20 percent of the bonds — roughly $663 million — had been issued, with many states not dipping into their allotments at all.

via Few Seize on a U.S. Bond Program Backing Green Energy – NYTimes.com.