Property-Assessed Clean Energy

Property-Assessed Clean Energy (PACE) is a financing structure that enables local governments to raise money through the issuance of bonds or other sources of capital to fund energy efficiency and renewable energy projects on private property. Land-secured financing districts (also known as "special tax" or "special assessment" districts) are a familiar tool in municipal finance. In a typical assessment district, a municipality issues bonds to fund projects with a public purpose such as streetlights, sewer systems or underground utility lines. The property owners that benefit from the improvement repay the bond through property assessments, which are secured by a property lien and paid as an addition to the property tax bill.

The extension of this financing model to energy efficiency and renewable energy improvements allows a property owner to install improvements without a large up-front cash payment. The financing is repaid over a set number of years through the an assessment only on those property owners who voluntarily choose to attach the cost of their energy improvements to their property tax bill. The financing is secured with a lien on the property and in the event of foreclosure, the PACE assessment and other taxes are paid before other claims against the property. If the property is sold before the end of the repayment period, the new owner inherits both the remaining repayment obligation along with the financed energy improvements.

A PACE program will launch in SF in March 2010 and new programs launch around the state this summer.

USA Today Article "San Francisco sets U.S. example by using property taxes to finance green upgrades"
http://content.usatod...

PACE How To Guide: http://rael.berkeley....

Merrian Fuller is a researcher at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (LBNL). Her work focuses on the financing and deployment of energy efficiency and renewable energy, and workforce development opportunities in these sectors. She is a member of the Department of Energy’s Financial Technical Assistance Team, providing assistance to cities and states deploying stimulus funds. Her current research also includes the interaction of stimulus funds with ratepayer funds, and methods for increasing the demand for building retrofits. Prior to joining LBNL, Merrian partnered on clean energy projects with the Renewable and Appropriate Energy Laboratory (RAEL), the Vermont Energy Investment Corporation, the California Public Utilities Commission, SunPower Corporation, and others. She is the past co-president of the Berkeley Energy and Resources Collaborative (BERC) and founding chair of the UC Berkeley Energy Symposium. Merrian was previously the director of the Sustainable Business Network of Greater Philadelphia and the managing director of the Business Alliance for Local Living Economies (BALLE). She has an MBA from the Haas School of Business, a Masters from the Energy & Resources Group at UC Berkeley, and BA in International Relations from Stanford University. Merrian currently serves on the boards of BALLE and the Goggio Family Foundation, and is an adviser to the New Economics Institute.