A resolution approved by council sets the application fees for the PACE program, which is a special financing mechanism to help commercial property owners in Ann Arbor undertake energy efficiency and renewable energy projects.

Through the PACE program, qualifying property owners are able to borrow money for energy efficiency projects ranging from $10,000 to $350,000 and then pay back the loans through special assessments added onto their tax bills for up to 10 years.

 

Andrew Brix

The program is a joint effort of the city of Ann Arbor and Clean Energy Coalition. City officials believe the availability of PACE financing will support economic stimulation across the city, create jobs and reduce operating costs for business owners. The $230 title search fee established by council covers the actual cost of a title search to verify ownership of property and determine the presence of existing liens or encumbrances. The $300 review fee covers technical review and project tracking.

Additionally, business must pay a fee that covers the cost of recording the assessment at the county clerk’s office of $14 for the first page and $3 for each additional page.

The program is being set up so the estimated energy savings must be greater than the cost of the assessment, meaning it should be immediate savings for property owners. City officials are hoping to change state law to be able to extend the program to residential properties.

The city said in a news release today that commercial properties — defined as any property that is not a single-family home, duplex or certain townhouses — can apply for financing for energy projects such as heating and air conditioning equipment, lighting, system controls, insulation and weather sealing, cool roofs, windows and doors, geothermal systems, energy star appliances and solar photovoltaic systems.

Andrew Brix, the city’s energy programs manager, said the development and implementation of the PACE program is funded by a grant from the U.S. Department of Energy. If application review costs exceed the fees collected in the first year of the program, he said, excess costs will be covered by the grant funds, and fees will be adjusted accordingly.

More information on the PACE program is available at www.a2energy.org.

New York, November 11, 2011 – PACENow, a non-profit focused globally on accelerating energy efficiency upgrades to buildings, announced the appointment of its initial board of advisors.  Property Assessed Clean Energy (PACE) is an innovative financing method that supports community based efforts to spur energy efficiency with no need for taxes or government subsidies. PACE has broad support among Republican and Democrat leadership given its unique ability to create permanent domestic jobs, improve our nation’s energy security, reduce fuel bills for businesses and homeowners – and it achieves all of this without cost to taxpayers.

PACENow was founded to be the central driver of the development of the PACE industry, with a major focus on being a repository for critical information to start programs, organizing webinars and conferences to educate potential market participants, and working with the financial service industry to develop best practices to help the asset class reach scale.    The initial board provides PACENow with broad expertise in government, energy policy, real estate, and financial markets, and includes:

Cisco DeVries, President, Renewable Funding LLC

Beau Engman, Vice President, Commercial Energy Solutions Johnson Controls, Inc.

David Gabrielson, Executive Director of PACENow, and former municipal finance investment banker

Ashok Gupta, Director of Energy Policy and Senior Energy Economist at the Natural Resource Defense Council

Jigar Shah, the founder of SunEdison and CEO of Richard Branson’s Carbon War Room

Jeffrey Tannenbaum, the founder of PACENow and Fir Tree Partners, a private investment firm

Today’s announcement highlights the dramatic potential of PACE finance.

Cisco DeVries, noted, “”PACE NOW has been at the forefront of the Property Assessed Clean Energy movement.  It has provided incredible leadership bringing together the interests of government and industry in support of good PACE policy and practice.  I am honored to continue my work in support of PACE by serving on the Board.”

Beau Engman, on joining the PACENow Board said, “Johnson Controls recognized immediately that PACE could really make it compelling for commercial building owners to make energy efficiency upgrades to their buildings.  We support PACENow and we look forward to working with David and PACENow’s team as they provide support for this important initiative.”

David Gabrielson commented on the Board, “I look forward to working with my new board colleagues, who will be a tremendous resource to PACENow as we broaden our role as the central and impartial resource to the emerging PACE industry.  PACE programs launching now in San Francisco, Sacramento, Los Angeles, and South Florida, join existing programs in California, Colorado, and New York, and programs in Washington, D.C. and Cleveland are in the works.  We expect many more will be started in the coming year, and PACENow will play a central role creating standards, and providing resources to support them.”

Jeffrey Tannenbaum said, “I am excited to work with the newly appointed team to help shepherd the growth of the nascent PACE industry given its large potential to be a private sector led catalyst for much needed domestic job creation and improved energy security.  I also want to thank the Energy Foundation and The Rockefeller Brothers Fund for recent grants which will enable us to add resources to drive PACE growth in the U.S. and abroad.”

Ashok Gupta stated, “I am delighted to be joining PACENow’s initial Board of Directors.  NRDC was an early supporter of PACENow and we have worked closely with Jeff and David to build awareness of PACE as a great tool for making energy efficiency affordable for building owners.  We’ve seen how PACE has been embraced by communities nationwide that are increasingly adopting their own energy efficiency goals and policies, and PACE is very uniquely suited to support those efforts.”

Jigar Shah said, “Carbon War Room has embraced the PACE model for making energy efficiency a reality in buildings and I am excited about working with PACENow in developing a broader and more cohesive network of PACE stakeholders nationwide, and globally a well.”

The program is a Property Assessed Clean Energy (PACE) program which gives commercial property owners access to new forms of financing for the installation of energy efficiency, renewable energy, and water conservation improvements. The program directly addresses the main barriers to the implementation of energy efficiency improvements in commercial buildings – financing.

“GreenFinanceSF-Commercial is the next big step forward in San Francisco’s efforts to dramatically reduce energy use and carbon emissions,” said Mayor Lee. “We are excited about the potential to unlock an enormous amount of private investment – from a wide range of sources – and create thousands of local construction jobs. As of today, we are open for business.”

Here’s what Clean Fund’s John Kinney has to say…