Lessons in Commercial PACE Leadership: The Path from Legislation to Launch
Property Assessed Clean Energy (PACE) financing enables building owners to finance energy efficiency, renewable energy, and, in some states, non-energy building improvements through a voluntary special assessment on their properties. For commercial buildings, there are many benefits to using Commercial PACE (C-PACE) financing. Still, using C-PACE financing is a multi-step process and involves diverse stakeholders (see Figure ES-1 for a simplified overview), and the process may vary depending on the state and policy context. The primary audience for this report, Lessons in Commercial PACE Leadership, is state and local decision makers that seek an informed, objective perspective of what it takes to launch a C-PACE program. The report is specifically for those states with enabling legislation and program sponsors (i.e., state or local governments) that are looking to launch or join a C-PACE program. The report is a starting point for understanding what approaches have worked to establish successful C-PACE programs. It examines the experience of programs across the country and provides insights for making the process smoother, and hopefully less cost and time-intensive, for new state and local governments sponsoring C-PACE programs. The report also provides a roadmap to key decision points on the path to setting up a program — the different paths taken and program models employed by those who have blazed the trail. The report is organized into three sections describing the decision points involved, options and considerations, and experience from the field.