White House announces property assessed clean energy (PACE) program as major part of ‘recovery through retrofit’

WASHINGTON, USA: At the White House, Vice President Biden released his ‘Recovery through Retrofit’ plan to expand green job opportunities in the United States and boost energy savings for middle class Americans by retrofitting homes for energy efficiency. The ‘Recovery through Retrofit’ report, which was developed by the Vice President’s Middle Class Task Force, is a roadmap to create new green jobs, provide financial relief to middle-class families, and reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

The plan includes a national pilot program to provide significant federal funds to support the development and implementation of Property Assessed Clean Energy (PACE) programs across the country. PACE programs, which are public-private partnerships with state and local governments, allow private property owners to pay for energy efficiency and renewable energy improvements through a voluntary property tax assessment.

‘Recovery through Retrofit’ includes a detailed policy framework for implementing pilot PACE programs (http://www.whitehouse.gov/assets/documents/PACE_Principles.pdf). The founders of Renewable Funding developed the PACE concept and the firm is now the national leader in administering and financing PACE programs.

“Renewable Funding is a strong supporter of the Obama Administration’s efforts to create jobs, reduce energy costs for families, and reduce our carbon footprint,” said Cisco DeVries, President of Renewable Funding and originator of the PACE concept. “The upfront costs of undertaking clean energy projects often prevent property owners from going solar or improving the energy efficiency of their homes and businesses. By spreading the project costs over up to 20 years through a property tax assessment, PACE overcomes this hurdle and enables homeowners and businesses to make retrofits with no up-front capital costs.”

Renewable Funding provides services to programs in several municipalities in Colorado and California, with dozens more in the planning phase. To date, legislation to enable PACE programs has been adopted in 14 states. Former President Clinton recently announced an effort by the Clinton Global Initiative to push for 50 municipalities to adopt the PACE model on an accelerated schedule. Renewable Funding is part of the PACE NOW Coalition and is an “implementation partner” in the Clinton Global Initiative effort.

Renewable Funding created a turnkey program to assist municipalities with rolling out PACE programs. The company provides comprehensive education, implementation guidance, on-line application processing and administrative solutions, and a financial package that ensures low interest rates to property owners. With the announcement of the Vice President’s new program, Renewable Funding is prepared to serve as an information source and to administer PACE programs in municipalities around the country.