Commercial Property Assessed Clean Energy (C-PACE) financing is a form of long term, low-interest financing enabled by state and local government legislation. C-PACE financing drives private sector investment in local communities, creates energy efficiencies and energy jobs, helps local governments meet efficiency and clean energy standards, and lowers the cost of energy in Alaska.
C-PACE programs piggyback on the longstanding concept of local or special improvement districts, where financing for projects such as sewer lines or roads that benefit commercial properties is repaid by benefitting properties via a special assessment. C-PACE legislation has been adopted by over 30 states and thousands of county and municipal governments.
C-PACE enables energy improvement projects undertaken on privately owned commercial or industrial property by providing access to financing for such improvements. In the C-PACE financial structure, private capital providers provide financing for up to 100% of all hard and soft costs associated with eligible energy efficiency improvements made to eligible property. Financing is repaid as a special property tax assessment by the property owner over the full useful life of the improvements, typically fifteen years or longer.