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Advanced Roofing’s Rob Kornahrens, Willie Bohhannon and Bruce Ward install solar panels. A new kind of financing for energy-saving improvements is now available in the town of Lantana and through the chambers of commerce in Delray Beach and Boynton Beach.The move could represent both a job generator and cost savings for South Florida businesses.
The local communities have arranged for $15 million in Property Assessed Clean Energy (PACE) financing for businesses to upgrade lighting, air conditioning and insulation, or to install solar panels and renewable energy.PACE refers to a method of funding facility improvements that repays loans with payments on property tax assessments over time. That way, the payments stay with the property if a business moves to another location.The Lantana program is one of the first in the state to formally offer loans through the PACE mechanism. The Florida Legislature approved wider use of PACE financing in 2010 with almost unanimous bipartisan support.Businesses, including Advanced Green Technology in Fort Lauderdale, are eager to see more PACE financing. AGT provides design and installation for solar panels.AGT founder Rob Kornahrens said PACE is crucial to attracting more jobs in renewable energy fields, like solar panel manufacturing.

“The bottom line with PACE is, it’s a great way to get financed. If we had more PACE, along with state incentives, we could really move forward here,” he said. “I’ve seen two solar manufacturers move to different states because the support hasn’t been present in Florida.”Lantana hired a team, led by EcoCity Partners L3C, to create the GreenBiz Energy Collaborative Program.
Born in Berkeley
PACE financing was invented in Berkeley, Calif., and was quickly embraced by conservatives and liberals alike. Participation in the program is voluntary. It has since been enabled by legislation in 27 states and the District of Columbia.The original Florida bill was championed by then-state Rep. Adam Hasner, now a Republican candidate for the U.S. Senate. He has called PACE “a no-cost to taxpayers, no-mandate … opt-in approach to bringing clean energy technology to homeowners and businesses.”The Lantana program will at first focus on commercial property retrofits. Residential PACE financing programs have been on hold following regulatory action by Fannie Mae Fannie Mae Latest from The Business Journals Fannie Mae: Odds of another recession 'coin toss'Government wants ideas on selling homesGovernment looks for ideas on how to sell homes Follow this company and Freddie Mac Freddie Mac Latest from The Business Journals Government wants ideas on selling homesGovernment looks for ideas on how to sell homesMortgage rates at record lows Follow this company , which have taken issue with the seniority of the PACE lien.
Congressional bill pending
Congress is considering a bipartisan bill, the PACE Protection Act of 2011, to allow state and local governments to offer voluntary PACE residential programs.A federal grant of $341,000 is helping to set up the program and keep interest rates low on private bank financing. Three banks – PNC Bank PNC Bank Latest from The Business Journals Florida banks post best quarter since 2007 Photo gallery: Key Partners 2011 celebrationMidland Loan Services will expand, hire 140 in Overland Park Follow this company , RBC Capital Markets and Wells Fargo Wells Fargo Latest from The Business Journals Earthquake reaction on TwitterEarthquake hits East CoastSunTrust moving offices, employees Follow this company – have expressed interest in providing up to $5 million each for the program, according to a news release from EcoCity Partners.“We are fortunate to have grant funding to launch the program,” said Michael Wallander, EcoCity Partners principal and the GreenBiz Energy Collaborative Program project manager. “Among other things, this will help us to keep the interest rate on the financing down.”Glenn Jergensen, president of the Greater Boynton Beach Chamber of Commerce, said workshops will help educate business owners about the program.