Commercial Property owners seeking financing for repairs and upgrades to save water and energy have a new financing tool as of Friday, August 6th from Ygrene, the “the nation’s leading provider of commercial property assessed clean energy (C-PACE) financing.” Invest Atlanta, Atlanta’s Economic Development Authority, has announced its partnership with Ygrene to administer the program, which will provide $500 million in bonds to commercial property owners for clean energy repairs. The program Aims to help achieve Atlanta’s goal of reaching 100% clean energy by 2035, as part of the Clean Energy Atlanta Plan. Atlanta City Council approved the formation of the Property Assessed Clean Energy (PACE) Program in 2017, and Invest Atlanta authorized $500 million in bonds for the program shortly thereafter.
The program will offer 20 year, 100% fixed rate, off-balance-sheet financing for projects ranging in cost from $5,000 to $20 million. The loans would be repaid through special annual tax assessments, and loan eligbility would be based primarily on property equity. Property owners will be able to choose from hundreds of building improvements, ranging from solar panel installation, HVAC units, insulation improvements, high-efficiency appliances, and more. The full list of eligible improvements are available at Ygrene’s website.
In a press release announcing the partnership with Ygrene, Eloisa Klementich, President and CEO of Invest Atlanta said “by encouraging energy and water efficiency upgrades for qualifying properties, we will create jobs as well as meet the city’s larger sustainability goals while modernizing buildings throughout the city for a more efficient use.” Ygrene touted their financing tool as a way for commercial property owners to possibly reduce operating costs while improving property values, and securing their long-term property investment.
As the nation’s leader in C-PACE financing, Ygrene has provided financing for more than 1,400 commercial improvements across the country, making up more than half of all C-PACE transactions. Ygrene estimates that projects they have financed have saved 450,000 metric tons of carbon, while creating 2,900 jobs and $400 million in local economic impact.
