Federal housing officials are ending a promising clean energy initiative. But the Property Assessed Clean Energy program is worth fighting for. California has been among the most enthusiastic supporters of PACE, both to make homes more energy efficient and to create green jobs.
Read the full story here: http://www.fresnobee.com/2010/07/07/1998846/editorial-ending-clean-energy.html?storylink=mirelated
For Immediate Release:
Contact: Guillermo Meneses/ICLEI USA
(202) 445-1570 (cell)
Local Governments for Sustainability USA (ICLEI) On FHFA Announcement on PACE: “The Lights Are On But Nobody’s Home”
“Newly Imposed FHFA Barriers to PACE Pose Major Threat to Economic Recovery and Job Creation in More Than 20 States, Including AZ, CA, CO, MD, FL, IL, LA, NC, NV, NM, NY, OH, TX, VA, WI, several others”
Washington, D.C. (July 07, 2010) - Local Governments for Sustainability USA (ICLEI), the largest organization of local governments dedicated to sustainability issued the following statements from its President of the Board, Mayor Patrick Hays (North Little Rock, AR) and its Executive Director, Martin J. Chavez on the Federal Housing Finance Agency’s (FHFA) latest stance regarding Property Assessed Clean Energy (PACE).
“The FHFA today demonstrated a new level of incompetence in recognizing and fueling innovation, energy efficiency and job creation. Today’s announcement by the FHFA imposing additional layers of bureaucracy, and adjusting loan and debt-to-value ratios effectively kills all future PACE programs,” said Martin J. Chavez, Executive Director of ICLEI USA and former three-term mayor of Albuquerque, NM.
“The President and the Congress have made it clear that as a matter of national and economic security, we need to become energy independent. Local governments have been leading the way on energy efficiency and sustainability; this act by a federally created agency is an unconscionable attack on local governments’ ability to simply do their jobs,” said Patrick Hays, Mayor of North Little Rock, Arkansas and Chairman of the Board of Directors, ICLEI USA.
“It’s difficult to imagine what exactly is going on at the FHFA these days. With BP oil washing up on our shores, a historically fragile economy and our seemingly unquenchable thirst for oil and other fossil fuels, it is simply mind boggling that the FHFA thinks this latest action represents sound national policy,” added Mayor Chavez.
“Before this latest FHFA action, PACE was poised to weatherize millions of homes and place solar panels on residences across the nation. Thousands of non-exportable jobs in the crucial residential construction industry have been jeopardized.” added Mayor Hays.
PACE has been one of the most innovative tools in the nation for empowering homeowners to improve energy efficiency in their homes thereby reducing their utility bills and saving money. 23 states have already enacted PACE enabling legislation, which allows homeowners to finance residential solar systems or energy efficient retrofits. Costs are paid in small annual increments through a homeowner’s annual property tax bills over 15 to 20 years with benefits gained through energy savings.
ICLEI USA is calling on its more than 600 members across the country to contact the President and the Congress, particularly the key committees with oversight authority to right this stupendous wrong. Some of the states that are currently engaged in PACE include, AZ, MD, OR, CA, NV, TX, CO, NM, VT, FL, NY, VA, HI, NC, WI, IL, OH, LA, OK, among others.
About Local Governments for Sustainability USA (ICLEI)
With over 600 members nationwide, ICLEI – Local Governments for Sustainability USA is the world’s leading local government association addressing climate change and sustainability. As a non-profit membership organization, ICLEI USA provides the expertise, technical support, training and innovative tools to help local governments advance their climate, energy reduction and sustainability goals. Since its inception in 1990, ICLEI global has grown to include more than 1,200 local governments worldwide with its international headquarters located in Bonn, Germany.
More information at www.icleiusa.org
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The Federal Housing Finance Agency announced Tuesday that the Property Assessed Clean Energy, or PACE program, backed by the Department of Energy and the Obama administration, is unacceptable for mortgage lenders to allow in its current form.
Read the full story here: http://news.cnet.com/8301-11128_3-20009844-54.html
Washington Post Staff Writer
Tuesday, July 6, 2010; 7:43 PM
A program that encourages homeowners to take on debt to make their homes more energy efficient could damage the already fragile mortgage system and leave homeowners at risk, financial regulators said Tuesday.
Read the full story here: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/07/06/AR2010070604541.html
By TODD WOODY
Two government-chartered mortgage finance companies are unlikely to accept loans on homes that are part of a special program that lets homeowners repay the cost of energy improvements through a surcharge on their property tax bills, according to Energy Department officials.
Read the full story here: http://www.nytimes.com/2010/07/04/business/energy-environment/04solar.html?src=busln
In an article in The Times on Thursday, I explained how Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, the government-chartered mortgage giants, have derailed an innovate financing program that lets homeowners pay for expensive solar panels and energy efficiency upgrades over time through an annual surcharge on their property tax bills.
Read the full story here: http://green.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/07/02/analysis-energy-lien-is-little-threat-to-loan-giants/
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Tuesday, June 29, 2010
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
June 29, 2010
Contact: Barb Halpin, 303-441-1622
Boulder County and other municipalities work to resolve new federal mortgage guidelines that prohibit Property-Assessed Clean Energy (PACE) programs
Boulder County, Colo. – Due to recent decisions made at the federal level that have had an immediate and detrimental impact on property-assessed clean energy financing programs throughout the country, Boulder County has cancelled the third round of residential financing under the ClimateSmart Loan Program.
The residential portion of the loan program, which had been on hold since early May while the county worked through two major issues at the federal level, has been suspended indefinitely.
Boulder County was able to successfully address one of the issues by bringing the ClimateSmart Loan Program (CSLP) into alignment with the Department of Energy’s newly issued guidelines for all property-assessed clean energy, or PACE, programs.
However, the county, working along with other PACE program administrators, has been unable to reverse a policy decision by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac which prohibits new financing, secured by a Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac mortgage, on properties on which there exists a property assessment for any energy efficiency/renewable energy improvements. Since property financing can switch hands over time, any residential loan secured by a mortgage may be subject to the Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac rules at some point.
Working with Colorado’s Congressional delegation and other stakeholder partners, the county has met complete resistance to modify the policy from the Federal Housing Finance Agency, which helps set national standards for mortgages, and from Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.
In a letter toClimateSmart Loan Program applicants and contractors, the Boulder County Board of Commissioners wrote: “We are extremely disappointed by the lack of flexibility and vision we’ve encountered with the FHFA and with Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, and we’ve been working closely with our local Congressional members as well as other stakeholders around the country to try to resolve these issues as quickly as possible. We initially hoped to get this issue resolved within a few weeks of our receiving notice of this new policy. However, it now appears that it will take several months before we can reach any kind of agreeable solution.
“We are particularly frustrated because the basis upon which the federal regulators are taking this action is purportedly that they do not find any public benefit created by property-assessed energy efficiency/renewable energy finance programs. For over 100 years, states have authorized improvement districts for purposes of creating improvements that both benefit the public as well as have special benefit for individual property owners.
“Moreover, in 2008, Colorado’s legislature added energy efficiency and renewable energy improvements to its list of authorized improvement district projects for which the legislature found significant public benefit. The federal Internal Revenue Code itself recognizes the public benefits of these improvements to private properties, and permits the use of tax exempt financing for those purposes. However, the federal housing regulators, for the first time in history, have now inserted themselves into this determination, and essentially overruled the state legislatures and ignored other federal law in this regard.”
The county commissioners further maintain that the community’s shared climate action goals can only be achieved through the strong support of residents who opt to make improvements on their own properties, collectively helping to reduce energy use, save money, improve air quality and decrease greenhouse gas emissions.
The commissioners also acknowledge the tremendous loss in potential revenue to the local business community, which has benefitted from the stimulus effect of the first two rounds of the residential loan program, as well as the impact on property owners who will need to secure other financing in order to make the desired improvements to their homes.
The current round of CSLP funding included 173 applicants for a total of $3.1 million in projects. Since the program was launched in May 2009, the ClimateSmart Loan Program has generated over $10 million in projects completed by more than 280 local businesses.
Boulder County will continue to explore other options to make funding available for residential energy efficiency and renewable energy financing.
Additionally, because the federal housing agencies’ actions do not impact commercialproperty improvements and financing, Boulder County’s Commercial ClimateSmart Loan Program is currently seeking applications from qualified commercial and industrial property owners.
For more information, please visit www.ClimateSmartLoanProgram.org, send an email to climatesmart@bouldercounty.org, or call 303-441-4565.
-BoulderCounty.org-
Barbara Halpin
Boulder County Public Information Officer
BHALPIN@bouldercounty.org
303-441-1622
