The U.S. Department of Energy has updated its guidelines for property-assessed clean energy financing for homes, as residential property-assessed clean energy programs begin to blossom beyond California.

In a few short years, the residential PACE market has grown from nearly nothing to more than $2 billion. Most of the projects are in California, but there are also expanding markets in Florida and Missouri.

PACE programs allow investments in water- and energy-efficiency retrofits and distributed renewable generation to be paid back through property taxes, which lowers the risk for both lenders and property owners.

PACE financing can potentially open up a far larger swath of the energy-efficiency market than traditional programs have been able to. For example, in a few short years, PACE has become one of the largest loan programs by volume, according to Lawrence Berkeley Lab, with the Mass Save HEAT Loan program being the other leader.

The DOE guidelines are not binding, and are therefore limited — since they are essentially voluntary. Even if they were binding, they do not go far enough to protect consumers, some consumer groups argue.

Read more (Greentech Media)

On October 4 we hosted the first in a new webinar series, kicking things off with “PACE in Virginia.”

Watch the “PACE in Virginia” webinar. 

The webinar covers:

• An overview of the basics of Property Assessed Clean Energy (PACE) financing
• Explanation of how Virginia compares to national programs and the opportunities and challenges in Virginia from a legislative and regulatory standpoint
• Discussion of funding Virginia received from the Department of Energy and a private foundation and how we will utilize the funding to increase market outreach and education to diverse localities across the Commonwealth
• Value proposition for property owners
• Specific examples that show how PACE works within the capital stack and current financing termsSpeakers:
  Abigail Johnson, Abacus Property Solutions
  Bill Greenleaf, Loan Officer and PACE specialist, Virginia Community Capital
  Elyssa Rothe, Director of Policy and Market Development, PACENation

Abigail Johnson, LEED AP O&M, is the President of Abacus Property Solutions (“Abacus”) and founding partner in the new venture Atlantic PACE, a PACE project development and program administrative firm. In 2009, Abby founded Abacus to serve as a an independent real estate advisor to the commercial real estate industry in financing energy efficiency and clean energy projects using conventional debt, public/private incentives, and alternative financing vehicles such as PACE. Over the past three and a half years, Abby has focused her energy in growing the PACE market, both from the origination and underwriting standpoint to working with government and non-profit entities in establishing PACE programs. In particular, she was instrumental in establishing a commercial PACE program in south Florida (St. Lucie County) and in amending the flawed Virginia PACE legislation in 2015. She holds a Bachelor of Architectural History from the University of Virginia and a Master in International Economics and Management from L’Universita’ SDA Bocconi in Milan, Italy.

Bill Greenleaf is commercial loan officer at Virginia Community Capital. He started Virginia Community Capital’s energy efficiency and solar lending program for commercial buildings in 2015. Bill first started working to bring PACE loan programs to Virginia in 2009. In 2014 he established a business coalition which successfully secured passage of Virginia’s PACE legislation in 2015. He serves on the board of the Virginia Energy Efficiency Council. Mr. Greenleaf received his MBA in Finance from the Kelley School of Business, Indiana University, and his Bachelor’s degree in Economics from Skidmore College.

Elyssa Rothe joined PACENation in January 2016 as Director of Policy and Market Development after working with Energize NY, NY State’s PACE program, for 4 years. She has spent her career working in the clean energy sector, primarily under several marketing and outreach contracts for the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA). She currently serves on the Board of Directors for 2 non-profit organizations in Westchester County. Elyssa graduated from New York University with a bachelor’s degree in Social Entrepreneurship, and received a Professional Certificate in Fundraising from NYU in 2014.

A leading provider of supportive services to families in Ward 8 is constructing a new state-of-the-art headquarters with help from the District of Columbia’s Department of Energy and Environment’s DC Property Assessed Clean Energy (DC PACE) financing program. The Far Southeast Family Strengthening Collaborative, Inc. (FSFSC), an anchor of the community for over 20 years, will use PACE financing at low tax-exempt rates to fund green building improvements for their new home in historic Anacostia. This is the first use of PACE with tax-exempt funds in the nation. This marks the fifth DC PACE deal closed under Mayor Bowser’s Administration, representing over $5.2 million in clean energy and water investments, with other major PACE deals in the pipeline.

The project includes the renovation of a vacant furniture store on Martin Luther King Jr. Avenue into the new offices for FSFSC, which is currently located a few blocks from the site. The first floor will become the first “Busboys and Poets” restaurant and bookstore east of the Anacostia River.

Read the full story. (Urban Ingenuity)

The Virginia Energy Efficiency Council is seeking proposals from subject matter experts in the Property Assessed Clean Energy (PACE) field to help us provide technical and legal services to local governments in Virginia who are considering the creation of PACE financing programs.

Download the RFP.

Important Dates:
8/25: Registration deadline; deadline to ask up to 5 questions
9/1: All submitted questions, with answers, will be sent to all registered applicants
9/8: Proposals Due