Full Title: The Great PACE Controversy: Renewable Energy Financing Program Hits a Snag
Author(s): Jonathan B. Wilson, Maura A. Marcheski, and Elias B. Hinckley
Publisher(s): Probate & Property
Publication Date: May 1, 2011
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Description (excerpt):
Property Assessed Clean Energy (PACE) programs were embraced with great fanfare during the past several years as an innovative financing tool for local governments to encourage investment in clean energy projects. Enthusiasm for these programs has stalled in the last year, however, under concerns about the collateral impact these programs may have on mortgage lenders and struggling local government budgets. Although these local efforts have been endorsed by President Obama and the Secretary of Energy, the programs have come under fire by other elements of the Obama Administration and have become bogged down in the ensuing controversy. This article explains the mechanics of PACE programs and the benefits they present for property owners and local communities. The article then discusses the controversy that has erupted over the programs and some of the efforts being made to break the impasse.