We Bail Out Fannie Mae & Freddie Mac… and This is How We Are Repaid? Protect PACE Clean Energy Retrofit Programs

PACE solar financing is facing a serious threat from Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac that could render these programs dead in the water. The Department of Energy, state and local governments, and many others working to address this problem. Yet, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac have repeatedly missed their own deadlines for resolving the issue. It’s time to step up the pressure. Help us urge Congress to step in and remedy this harmful impasse.

How does PACE work?

Cities set up special clean energy finance districts capable of issuing low-interest bonds. Participating homeowners can opt to use the bond money to pay for solar panels installation, renewable energy and energy efficiency improvements, and then pay the loan back through a long-term assessment on their property taxes. This arrangement spreads the cost of a new solar products installers solar energy system out across a 20-year payment plan that is easily transferable to the next property owner, a particular benefit to solar which can have longer payback periods. The cost of that assessment is typically less than the power bill savings generated by the improvements. It’s a budget-friendly way that cities can empower property-owners to invest in a local clean energy future.

The Department of Energy, state and local governments, and many others are working to address this problem. Yet, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac have repeatedly missed their own deadlines for resolving the issue. It’s time to step up the pressure.

Note this finance model can- and we believe should- be used to finance a host of solar technologies: solar PV systems, solar hot water systems, energy efficiency installations, and even water conservation upgrades.

Thank you for taking action to protect PACE programs nationwide. Please consider asking others to do the same.

From Vote Solar Org