BY BRYAN GARCIA
Connecticut property owners continue to make clean energy improvements and realize immediate cash flow from energy savings with the Commercial Property Assessed Clean Energy, or C-PACE, program.
Now entering its third year, the program helps commercial, industrial and multifamily property owners and nonprofits access affordable, long-term, low-interest financing for energy upgrades to their buildings without any money down.
Using money saved on energy bills, building owners repay C-PACE financing through a benefit assessment charge on the property, typically spanning 20 years, making it easy to finance multiple improvements. C-PACE enables comprehensive energy-efficiency and renewable energy projects and is a good business decision for building owners looking to immediately increase their bottom line and lower their energy costs.
Since the program launched in January 2013, more than $65 million in long-term C-PACE financing has been approved for upgrades to more than 90 commercial properties statewide, occupying more than 5 million square feet. Energy-efficiency improvements are projected to reduce property owners”™ utility bills by 20 percent to 40 percent overall, while solar energy projects are generally saving more than 50 percent (with many achieving savings of more than 90 percent).
“C-PACE plays a pivotal role in helping Connecticut businesses lower their electric bills, thereby creating a more competitive business climate, economic growth and job creation in Connecticut,” said Eric Brown, director of the Environmental Policies Council at the Connecticut Business & Industry Association. Previously, Brown was a senior environmental analyst with the Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection. “Most impressive is that C-PACE is achieving its success by leveraging minimal ratepayer dollars to attract significant private capital investment. C-PACE is an outstanding example of Connecticut innovation that”™s helping our state achieve its economic, energy and environmental goals simultaneously.”
C-PACE financing has helped a cross section of businesses in Connecticut, including family-owned businesses like Shagbark Lumber, industrial manufacturers like Bourdon Forge and Polamer Precision, commercial real estate property owners like Northeast Quality, community-based nonprofit organizations like YMCAs, The Bushnell theater, sports complexes like Insports and religious institutions like Calvary Temple Christian Center. The program has recognized those businesses and building owners who are on the cutting edge, among the first to use C-PACE financing to take control of their energy costs. These individuals are leading the way among businesses in Connecticut.
“I strongly recommend the C-PACE program,” said Peter Corbett, CEO and president of Insports, a multisport recreation center in Trumbull, which is saving more than $90,000 in energy costs annually thanks to $1 million in C-PACE financing for solar panels, high-efficiency lighting and heating and cooling improvements. “There”™s no state like Connecticut for financing renewable-energy projects. Our new upgrades have helped to significantly improve lighting quality for our customers and reduce our carbon footprint.”
Bishop John R. Thompson Sr. and co-pastor Jenice Thompson used C-PACE to finance energy upgrades at Calvary Temple Christian Center. Calvary leveraged more than $51,000 in C-PACE financing to convert from oil to natural gas heating and to install a new gas boiler in its 145-year-old house of worship in Bridgeport, saving $14,000 a year.
“Our congregation sang praises on another level when we announced the planned improvements,” said Jenice Thompson, who is also a Realtor. “Now that the boiler is replaced, everybody comes in with a smile because they are thrilled it”™s warm enough to hold church services in the winter.”
Today, nearly 90 percent of commercial and industrial properties in Connecticut, representing more than 105 towns, have access to C-PACE capital, and more than 100 contractors have been trained to provide energy improvements through C-PACE.
Qualifying improvements include: installation of high-efficiency lighting; heating, ventilation and air conditioning upgrades and controls; variable-speed drives on motors, fans and pumps; high-efficiency chillers, boilers, furnaces and water-heating systems; building-envelope improvements; energy-management systems; windows; and renewable-energy systems, such as solar and fuel cells. Estimated energy reductions for C-PACE projects are validated to ensure savings exceed assessment charges over the term of the benefit assessment.
Contractors are growing their businesses with C-PACE as well. More than 100 contractors across the state are using C-PACE as a tool to convert more leads into closed deals. Not only is this tool making it possible for contractors to close deals that were not previously feasible financially, it also enables them to develop deeper and more comprehensive energy solutions for their customers.
C-PACE also spurs economic development for cities and towns across Connecticut. Energy improvements provide a more competitive environment for attracting and retaining businesses through lower energy costs, while creating new jobs and reducing greenhouse gases and other pollutants.
The program is administered by the Connecticut Green Bank (formerly the Clean Energy Finance and Investment Authority) the nation”™s first full-scale green bank, which accelerates private investment in clean energy deployment, fostering statewide economic prosperity, job creation and energy security. C-PACE has received recognition nationally including a State Leadership in Clean Energy award from the Clean Energy States Alliance for effectively accelerating the adoption of clean energy technologies.
C-PACE is making it easier for building owners to access cleaner, cheaper and more reliable sources of energy, while allowing those businesses to take control of their energy costs and make good business decisions.
Bryan Garcia is president and CEO of the Connecticut Green Bank. For more information, visit c-pace.com and ctcleanenergy.com.
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