During the October board meeting, the Chamber’s Board of Directors approved a position statement in support of the Property Assessed Clean Energy (PACE) program. Brandon Seale, President of Howard Energy Mexico and the Chamber’s Energy and Sustainability Committee Chair, presented the position statement which encourages Bexar County to adopt the program.
PACE is an innovative financing program that enables owners of commercial, industrial and residential (5 units or more) properties to obtain low-cost, long-term loans for water conservation, energy-efficiency improvements and renewable retrofits. The program is entirely voluntary for every party involved, does not rely on taxpayer funding and allows private property owners to exercise their property rights to the maximum advantage of their businesses.
PACE enables property owners to overcome the steep upfront costs for water and energy efficiency improvements by utilizing private sector financing for up to 100% of the capital improvements. If the property is sold before the full amount of the PACE assessment is repaid, the repayment obligation automatically transfers to the next owner, who continues to benefit from the utility savings. For residential properties (5 units or more), the loan repayment can be transferred to the tenant - who in turn benefits from lower utility bills.
The 2013 Texas PACE statute, SB 385, authorizes municipalities and counties to create a local PACE program to work with private sector lenders and property owners to finance qualified improvements using an optional economic development tool called the Contractual Property Assessment. In exchange for funds provided by a private lender to pay for the improvement, the property owner voluntarily requests that the local government place an assessment secured with a senior lien on the property until the assessment is paid in full.
In February 2016, The Texas PACE Association presented PACE to the Chamber’s Energy and Sustainability Committee. The committee voted to support PACE and develop a position statement to encourage Bexar County to adopt the program. While the City of San Antonio is eligible to adopt the program, the Bexar County region is larger and encompasses many commercial and industrial businesses who would benefit greatly from PACE.
Other Texas cities and counties that have adopted the PACE program include Houston, Dallas, Travis County and Brazos County. Cameron and Willacy counties plan to adopt the program in 2017. Click here to learn more about PACE.
