CPACE Financing

Commercial Property Assessed Clean Energy (CPACE) is an alternative financing mechanism for energy efficiency, water efficiency, renewable energy and resiliency projects.

It allows building owners and developers to access the capital they need to make energy related deferred maintenance upgrades in their existing buildings, support new construction costs, and make renewable energy accessible and cost-effective.

It provides low-cost, long-term, interest only financing which is paid back through a special assessment on your property tax bill.

CPACE is a public-private partnership enabled by state and local legislation, allowing CPACE lenders to provide financing for eligible measures that improve building energy performance.

1. States pass legislation authorizing CPACE financing, which then allows counties and cities to develop a CPACE program. CPACE administrators are selected to regulate the C-PACE program and other counties and cities may choose to opt into the program.
2. Property owners and Developers secure CPACE financing from a CPACE lender, alongside senior loan and equity.
3. Loan Funds are then repaid via a special assessment on the property tax bill.

PACE enabling legislation is active in 30 states plus DC. And PACE programs are now active, launched and operating in 30 states plus DC.

Example:

Say you apply and are approved for PACE and have secured financing. You hire a contractor who installs clean energy equipment and your property begins to realize energy savings. The financing is then repaid in the form of a benefit assessment on the your commercial property tax bill over a period of typically 15-30 years. The assessment transfers on the sale of the property and can be passed through to tenants where appropriate.

The beauty of the program is while facilitating sustainability efforts, it reduces your property’s annual costs and pro­vides dramatically better-than-market financing for green new construction.

Renewable Energy

• Solar/solar thermal
• Fuel cells
• Cogeneration Geothermal
• Wind

Energy Efficiency

• HVAC systems
• Boilers & chillers
• Building automation & control systems LED lighting
• Building envelope, including insulation, windows, doors & roofing
• Motors & drives

Water Efficiency

• Low-flow plumbing fixtures
• Irrigation sensors/controls Greywater/wastewater recovery
• Water-efficient appliances (permanently affixed)
• Rainwater harvesting

Resiliency*

• Seismic
• Wind-hardening
• Microgrids

* CPACE financing can be used for seismic upgrades in California and Oregon and for wind-hardening upgrades in Florida.

POSITIVE CASH FLOWS:

CPACE financing can cover 100% of project cost with long 10-20 year terms, not to exceed the useful life of the installed equipment. This results in lower annual payments that are typically less than project savings.

FAVORABLE TERMS:

CPACE provides strong security for you as an investor because the financing is repaid on the property tax bill. This allows our lenders the ability to offer better interest rates and longer repayment terms than are otherwise available.

TRANSFERABILITY:

CPACE assessments are linked to the property and automatically transfer to a new owner upon the sale of the property.

FLEXIBLE BALANCE SHEET TREATMENT:

CPACE may be structured to be off-balance sheet or on-balance sheet. However, appropriate accounting treatment for CPACE remains inconclusive, as clear consensus has not been reached by the accounting community.

OVERCOMES THE TENANT/LANDLORD SPLIT-INCENTIVE

CPACE can align incentives for landlords and tenants, as both the tax assessment and cost-savings from the project can be shared with tenants under most lease structures.

CAN WORK FOR BUILDIGS IN ANY SECTOR, INCLUDING NON-PROFITS

LIMITED AVAILABILITY:

CPACE is limited to jurisdictions with PACE-enabling legislation, which has currently been passed in 32 states and the District of Columbia.

MORTGAGE LENDER APPROVAL:

For properties with a mortgage, mortgage lender consent is usually required before CPACE can move forward. This can be difficult and time-consuming to obtain.

LIMITED TO INDIVIDUAL PROPERTIES:

CPACE financing must be structured differently for specific properties, making it challenging to use for portfolio-wide initiatives.

Simply give us a call, or fill out our Contact Us form, and we’ll start the process

We offer a variety of commercial real estate loans using more than 50+ lenders. We’ll work with you and our lenders to ensure one of them approves your loan. We will ensure your goals are met.