Co-Sponsorship Memo Details

The General Assembly created a sound and visionary program when it enacted Act 30 of 2018. The Property-Assessed Clean Energy program (“C-PACE”) has enabled property owners in Pennsylvania to take advantage of private capital to implement building energy efficiency and clean energy projects.  Nationwide, C-PACE programs have led to over $2 billion in investments in over 2,500 commercial projects and created 24,000 jobs.

In its first full year of existence in Pennsylvania, four C-PACE projects were completed for a total investment of $18 million of private capital. These investments allowed for enhancements to the energy and water efficiency of the properties. The list of projects currently “in the pipeline” statewide stands at $225 million.

Currently, Act 30 of 2018 facilitates long-term financing for energy efficiency, water conservation and renewable energy projects for agricultural, commercial, and industrial properties. I am proposing new legislation to enhance and expand the C-PACE program in the following ways -

The enhancements to the C-PACE program would expand eligibility to the following:

• Multifamily commercial buildings
• Indoor air improvements (e.g. COVID-19 mitigation), and
• Resiliency improvements

These are timely measures in light of the COVID-19 pandemic and wide-spread economic hardship. New multifamily buildings, like senior living centers, are one of the fastest growing commercial real estate sectors in Pennsylvania, so expanding the program to include them will infuse our economy with much-needed capital.

Expansion of the C-PACE program will help property owners make vital upgrades to ventilation systems to improve indoor air quality and reduce COVID-19 transmission.

Finally, projects that increase resilience or improve the durability of real property—such as flood mitigation, wind resistance, energy storage, microgrids, and backup power generation, or others as defined by a local government, will be made eligible for C-PACE financing as well.

These C-PACE improvements are also supported by a diversity of stakeholders, including builders and developers, housing and public health advocates, renewable energy manufacturers and installers, capital investors and municipalities.

This legislation will not impose any financial burden on the Commonwealth or its businesses. C-PACE is a funding mechanism that relies entirely on private capital and is not a tax. It will help promote energy efficiency while saving Pennsylvanians money that can be put back into the economy.

Please join me in co-sponsoring this proposal to make C-PACE work even better for the Commonwealth.