Boulder PACE Financing
Congratulations, Boulder County residents! You live in an area that supports property tax solar financing.
How does Boulder County’s municipal solar financing program work?
The ClimateSmart Loan Program (formerly known as the Clean Energy Options Local Improvement District or Ballot Measure 1A) allows homeowners to pay for solar panels and other energy efficiency improvements through property tax bills. The loans carry a fixed interest rate and stay with the house–so if you move, the next tenant continues to pay for the loan through property taxes. That means you don’t have to worry about paying for panels on a house that you don’t live in anymore. Applicants pay a $75 application fee along with a bond issuance fee of 4% and a pre-paid interest fee of 4%. Additionally, there is a debt service reserve fund of 8- 12%. There is a minimum loan size of $3,000 per property and a maximum loan size of 20% of the statutory actual value of the property or $50,000, whichever is less.
That sounds great! How is Boulder able to do this?
Boulder County’s solar financing program is possible thanks to Colorado’s HB 1350 law, which allows counties and municipalities to set up their own renewable energy and energy efficiency loan programs. Boulder County also passed Ballot Measure 1A last year. The “Clean Energy Options Local Improvement District” gave permission to Boulder County to issue up to a maximum of $40 million in special assessment bonds. The county has apportioned $28 million for residential properties and $12 million for commercial properties. Additionally, a proposal to increase bonding capacity is on the November ballot as Measure 1B.
Is the property tax financing program available now?
The first round of financing ran from April 1-10, 2009 and a second round ran from July 29th to September 4th, 2009. The next round of residential financing for the program is slated to begin in March of 2010. Future applicants should be prepared to attend an educational workshop to walk them through the application process. Prior to applying, applicants must also obtain a written “not to exceed” estimates or bids from contractors.
How do I get involved?
For future updates, check out Boulder County’s ClimateSmart Loan Program website.