CEFIA Launches Commercial and Industrial Clean Energy Financing Program

Just recieved word that the Clean Energy Finance and Investment Authority (CEFIA) announced today the launch of the Commercial and Industrial Property Assessed Clean Energy (C-PACE) Program, a new financial product to support building owners seeking low-cost, long-term, upfront financing for clean energy upgrades.

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C-PACE is an integral part of the State’s Energize Connecticut initiative, which is intended to help consumers save money and use clean energy. The C-PACE Program provides an innovative financing model that will allow building owners across the state to access low-cost financing and the opportunity to realize cleaner, cheaper, and more reliable energy.

At NAIOP’s commercial real estate development association Connecticut chapter event in Stamford, CEFIA formally announced the statewide launch of the C-PACE Program. CEFIA, tasked by the CT legislature to design the Program, has brought on Buonicore Partners as the Program’s technical administrator and Honest Buildings to develop an interactive online portal.

C-PACE provides an opportunity for commercial, industrial and multi-family property owners to access financing for energy efficiency and clean energy upgrades and to repay that investment through a benefit assessment charge on their property tax bill. Benefit assessments are a safe and familiar tool used by municipalities to finance projects including street paving, water and sewer systems, and street lighting.

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Typical C-PACE measures could include high efficiency lighting, heating ventilation air conditioning (HVAC) upgrades and controls, high efficiency chillers, boilers, furnaces and water heating systems, building envelope improvements, energy management systems, and renewable energy systems such as solar and fuel cells. Upgrades eligible for financing must lower the energy consumption of the building or enable the building to produce clean energy. While there is no financing minimum, C-PACE financing is best suited for capital improvements above $150,000.

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“The Clean Energy Finance and Investment Authority has been working diligently with numerous key stakeholders throughout Connecticut to develop the standards and protocols that support the implementation of this statewide clean energy financing effort,” stated CEFIA Chairwoman and Commissioner of the Department of Economic and Community Development Catherine Smith. “C-PACE provides benefits for all involved, as it will encourage and enable local institutions to invest in commercial clean energy projects and help Connecticut’s businesses stabilize their energy costs and improve their competitiveness while creating jobs and supporting economic development.”

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Building owners in municipalities that have already adopted C-PACE, including Stamford, Bridgeport, Norwalk, Hartford, Middletown, Durham, West Hartford, Beacon Falls, Windham, Simsbury, and Westport, are now eligible for this financing.

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Please visit www.energizect.com/c-pace for additional information and opportunities.