Author: Jessa Coleman

Passage of C-PACE Legislation in Pennsylvania and Delaware

Passage of C-PACE Legislation in Pennsylvania and Delaware

In the Mid-Atlantic

Mid-Atlantic PACE is growing through the passage of PACE bill sin Delaware and Pennsylvania (PA's state capitol pictured)

Pennsylvania and Delaware have both begun to build C-PACE programs in the past several months, with Pennsylvania’s governor signing C-PACE enabling legislation in June (Act No. 30) and Delaware’s governor following close behind in September (Senate Bill 113).

The Pennsylvania legislation was passed through the Commonwealth’s House and Senate with broad bipartisan support. Individual jurisdictions will still need to opt into the program at a county or other municipal level before the program can be considered live. The Sustainable Energy Fund, an existing agency that facilitates clean energy and energy efficiency grants and incentives, will sponsor and administer and statewide program. The City of Philadelphia is expected to administer an independent program.

The case of Delaware largely mirrors that of Pennsylvania. It, too, is now in a program design and county opt-in phase, led by the state administrator, Delaware’s Sustainable Energy Utility. The three counties in the state have already indicated their interest in participating in the program and therefore, we can expect to see C-PACE in action in Delaware within the next several months. As Delaware is Maryland’s immediate neighbor, the MD-PACE program expects that its registered contractors and capital providers will soon uncover an attractive commercial real estate market in Delaware.

The MD-PACE program commends the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and the State of Delaware on taking the steps to implement a Commercial Property Assessed Clean Energy program in their respective jurisdictions. The passage of C-PACE legislation in Pennsylvania and Delaware lays the groundwork for the Mid-Atlantic to be a powerhouse of C-PACE transactions in the country. Alongside Pennsylvania and Delaware, New Jersey has a C-PACE program under development. Maryland and DC have fully fledged programs with multiple completed transactions and Virginia is in the implementation phase, with individual counties now opting into the program (Arlington County has opted in thus far). To the west, Kentucky and Ohio also have functioning C-PACE programs.

Welcome to the New MD-PACE Program Manager

Welcome to the New MD-PACE Program Manager

Programmatic Updates

MD-PACE is pleased to introduce Jessa Coleman, the new Program Manager of the MD-PACE program! This summer, MD-PACE said goodbye to Gerard Neely, who has chosen to move on to other work in the industry. We thank him for all the hard work he did to onboard counties across the state to the MD-PACE program. Jessa joined us as his replacement in July.

Jessa is a native of Frederick, MD and thus excited to be back in her home state in a position that allows her to help drive economic growth and energy efficiency in the state. She recently returned to the United States after several years abroad consulting for private enterprises dedicated to social or environmental causes and non-profits. She has developed data-centric business strategies for an energy services company in France; created a marketing strategy and monitoring and evaluation study for a business accelerator in East Africa; managed a microfinance institution in Cameroon; and provided strategic support to small biofuels companies across Africa, among other projects. Her experience in program management, data management, and strategy fit MD-PACE’s needs. Moving forward, Jessa intends on ramping up ongoing operations such as marketing (participating in events, communicating more actively online through social media and this newsletter, liaising regularly with community partners, etc.) to boost MD-PACE’s brand across the state and in the region. She looks forward to continuing to build this innovative program alongside MD-PACE’s many stakeholders.

Two New Counties Join the C-PACE Club and Updates in Baltimore City

Two New Counties Join the C-PACE Club and Updates in Baltimore City

Legislative Updates

Bethesda, MD (September 26, 2018) — As the year unfolds, Maryland continues to experience successful C-PACE expansion across the state. Most recently, Cecil County voted to pass Bill No. 2018-13 on September 4th of this year, enabling C-PACE in the county. Prince George’s County Executive signed their own ordinance implementing C-PACE financing on August 8th of this year. The result of these developments is that in just a few short years, 17 jurisdictions in Maryland have enabled C-PACE programs. Of these, 15 have opted into the MD-PACE program (Montgomery County and Prince George’s County operate their own C-PACE programs).

Pace legislation is passed in Cecil and Prince George's Counties
Pace legislation has been passed in Cecil and Prince George’s Counties

Furthermore, in July the City of Baltimore passed an amendment to Council Bill 18-195 substantially changing the rules guiding C-PACE project eligibility. This amendment allows otherwise eligible projects that have already begun construction to qualify for C-PACE retroactively. Specifically, projects initiated as of July 1st, 2016 may now apply for C-PACE financing up to 30 months after qualifying improvements have been placed on the property. This option will be available through December 31st of 2019. The exact updated text of the legislation is included below:

For projects initiated on or after July 1, 2016, through December 31, 2019, the Administrator may approve a clean energy loan up to 30 months after the property owner places qualifying energy improvements in service, as long as the property owner has filed an initial PACE loan application on or before December 31, 2019.

If you have any questions about the content of C-PACE legislation that has been passed in Maryland or where to find such information, please reach out to PFS.

Jurisdictions in Maryland with a C-PACE Program:

  • Allegany County
  • Anne Arundel County
  • Baltimore County
  • Baltimore City
  • Carroll County
  • Charles County
  • Frederick County
  • Garrett County
  • Harford County
  • Howard County
  • Kent County
  • Montgomery County
  • Prince George’s County
  • Queen Anne’s County
  • Talbot County
  • Wicomico County

Simon Property Group Implements Largest PACE Deal in MD-PACE

Simon Property Group Implements Largest PACE Deal in MD-PACE

Hanover, MD (September 26, 2018) — Anne Arundel County may already claim the seat of the Maryland state government in Annapolis, but it can now lay claim to the site of the largest C-PACE deal in the state, as well. The well-known Arundel Mills Mall used C-PACE financing to implement comprehensive energy efficiency improvements throughout the building. With the closure of this deal, Maryland has surpassed $12 million in C-PACE financing.

Arundel Mills Mall by Simon Property Group
The Arundel Mills Mall is the recipient of the largest PACE deal in Maryland as of September 2018.

The project was funded by Petros PACE Finance, LLC. Petros has been involved in the PACE market since 2010. Based in Texas, this is their first deal to close in Maryland. CEO of Petros PACE Mansoor Ghori says, “We are pleased to have closed our first transaction in Maryland, which was also the first PACE transaction to close in Anne Arundel County. We look forward to working with potential partners in the state.”

To learn more about Petros PACE Finance, visit https://www.petros-pace.com/.

To learn more about the MD-PACE program, visit https://www.md-pace.com/.