Energy Exchange

Selected tag(s): PACE 2.0

Record-Setting ‘PACE’ for Commercial Buildings in California

iStock_000008305519XSmallLos Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti and Hilton Hotel executives were all smiles last week, and for good reason: they had just cut the ribbon on the completion of a $7 million energy efficiency upgrade to the Universal City Hilton – the largest project of its kind in the U.S.

LA’s record-setting project is the third in a string of major commercial building retrofits in California in just the past two years, all thanks to Property Assessed Clean Energy (PACE), a program that allows customers to finance clean energy upgrades and pay them back, over time, on their property tax bills.

What’s made PACE so successful is that it allows customers to avoid the sizeable up-front costs of major building upgrades, while saving energy and money. Read More »

Posted in California, Clean Energy, Energy Efficiency, Energy Financing, State / Also tagged | Comments are closed

PACE 2.0: California Leading the Next Evolution in Clean Energy Finance

Economy_iStock_000019093094_RFProperty Assessed Clean Energy (PACE) is an innovative financing technique for clean energy retrofits that was first developed in Berkeley in 2008, giving energy efficiency projects a huge boost throughout the U.S.

Here’s how it works: Property owners agree to a long-term tax assessment on their home or building in exchange for the upfront funding to pay for a retrofit. What’s great about the program is its ability to essentially eliminate one of the biggest barriers to energy efficiency retrofits: up-front costs.

And, just as with any other property tax assessment, the obligation transfers to the new owner upon a sale of the property.  This transferability allows property owners to consider projects with longer payback periods as the obligation does not become immediately due upon sale. Read More »

Posted in California, Clean Energy, Energy Financing, State / Also tagged | Comments are closed