PACE Program Helps California Homeowners Go Green
Bond lawyers and local governments have a new tool to aid in the fight against climate change. The Property Assessed Clean Energy (PACE) program permits local governments to help homeowners finance the installation of solar panels or other energy-saving improvements. Under the PACE program, local governments finance the improvements with municipal bonds, and property owners repay the debt through assessments levied on their property. The debt stays on the property in the event of sale or transfer.
PACE is intended to eliminate the high up-front costs of installing clean energy projects, a major deterrent for many homeowners. The program was authorized in California under AB 811, which became law in 2008.
Sonoma County, one of the first to launch a PACE program after the passage of AB 811, has already received applications for $40 million in financing, and is preparing for its first bond sale this year.
Dozens of other counties and cities around California are considering implementing a PACE program, including the County of Los Angeles and the cities of Berkeley, Palm Desert, and San Diego. Other states have adopted legislation similar to AB 811, and many more are considering such laws.
