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Property assessed clean energy (PACE) is a means of financing energy efficiency upgrades or renewable energy installations for buildings. Examples of upgrades range from adding more attic insulation to installing rooftop solar panels. In areas with PACE legislation in place municipal governments offer a specific bond to investors and then loan the money to consumers and businesses to put towards an energy retrofit. The loans are repaid over the assigned term (over the course of somewhere between 5 and 25 years) via an annual assessment on their property tax bill. PACE bonds can be issued by municipal financing districts, state agencies or finance companies and the proceeds can be used to retrofit both commercial and residential properties. One of the most notable characteristics of PACE programs is that the loan is attached to the property rather than an individual.〔(PACENation )〕〔(PACE (Property Assessed Clean Energy) Financing )〕〔(Finance Overview )〕〔(PACE Program (Property Assessed Clean Energy) Financing )〕 PACE can also be used to finance leases and power purchase agreements (PPAs). In this structure, the PACE property tax assessment is used to collect a lease payment of services fee. The primary benefit of this approach is that project costs may be lower due to the provider retaining the tax incentives and passing the benefit on to the property owner as a lower lease or services payment. PACE programs help home and business owners pay for the upfront costs of green initiatives, such as solar panels, which the property owner then pays back by increasing property taxes by a set rate over about 20 years. This allows property owners to begin saving on energy costs while they are paying for their solar panels. This usually means that property owners have net gains even with increased property tax. ==History== PACE was originally known as a "Special Energy Financing District" or "on-tax bill solar and efficiency financing." The concept was first conceived and proposed in the Monterey Bay Regional Energy Plan in 2005 but followed voter approval of a similar solar bonds program approved by San Francisco voters in 2001.〔http://www.local.org/sfproph.html〕 The concept was designed to overcome one of the most significant barriers to solar and costly energy efficiency retrofits: up-front costs. A homeowner could spend tens of thousands of dollars on a solar photovoltaic system, upgrading windows to be more energy efficient or adding insulation throughout the home, yet all of these investments would not likely be recovered when the home was sold. PACE enables the homeowner to "mortgage" these improvements and pay only for the benefits they derive while they own the home. The first PACE program was implemented by Berkeley, California, led by Cisco DeVries, the chief of staff to Berkeley's mayor. Berkeley's PACE program was recommended as an alternative to the (bonds ) authority approved by neighboring San Francisco voters in 2001 in conjunction with the City's Community Choice Aggregation program, which is being implemented in both San Francisco and Sonoma counties.〔http://www.northbaybusinessjournal.com/31896/first-marin-now-sonoma-moves-on-energy-program/〕 DeVries saw PACE as a way to provide a viable means to help achieve the Bay Area's climate goals. California passed the first legislation for PACE financing and started the BerkeleyFIRST climate program in 2008.〔〔(【引用サイトリンク】title=PACE Program (Property Assessed Clean Energy) Financing )〕 Since then, PACE-enabling legislation has been passed in 31 states and the District of Columbia, allowing localities to establish PACE financing programs. However, PACE financing for residential properties was dealt a serious blow in 2010 when Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac refused to back mortgages with PACE liens on them.〔(Interview with Cisco Devries on Sea Change Radio ), originally aired May 26, 2010〕 As a result, Berkeley no longer offers this financing mechanism until these issues are resolved. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「PACE financing」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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