More states allow PACE programs, report says
Twenty states now allow cities and counties to finance energy efficiency retrofits and on-site renewable energy generation and repay the loan with a property tax assessment, according to a report from the Minneapolis-based Institute for Local Self Reliance (ILSR). Five municipalities launched Property Assessed Clean Energy (PACE) programs in the past two years and have spent $37.5 million to help enable close to 2,000 voluntary residential retrofits.
The ILSR policy brief,”Municipal Energy Financing: Lessons Learned,” is based on an analysis of existing programs. It identifies issues that have surfaced and suggests possible strategies for addressing them. Among the issues identified are: offering greater access to homeowners with lower incomes or lower credit ratings while maintaining the financial integrity of the program and gaining a bond rating that allows for low-cost municipal financing; lowering the administrative costs and interests rates of PACE programs through aggregation; resolving lien issues with lenders; and maximizing energy efficiency investments.
Download Municipal Energy Financing: Lessons Learned.