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Getting Started

Commercial PACE

MEI administers the open-market commercial PACE program

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Residential

Ygrene administers the residential PACE program.​

Currently, it is on pause until August 2023

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With Property Assessed Clean Energy (PACE), you can increase your bottom line while lowering your energy costs. PACE offers long-term fixed interest financing for energy efficiency and renewable energy measures repaid with an assessment on the property. PACE is all private capital with no government funding.

PACE financing can also be used with utility energy incentives and tax credits. See what energy efficiency programs are available in your area.

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Set the PACE is an open market program that welcomes multiple funding originators. Our lending partners (over 20 board approved) allow us to offer on-demand cash for PACE projects, reducing the approval process to mere days.

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We require lender consent from Sr. lenders and welcome all forms of lenders as we look to finance small and large projects, new built, retrofits and refinancings. 

Contractors

Property Assessed Clean Energy can provide your clients access to private capital that can significantly increase the ROI, making once risky projects, no-brainers. PACE can provide 100% financing or simply take part of the capital stack. 

Get started with our
 interest form

Benefits of PACE

  • PACE assessments are small in comparison to the property value and mortgage amount and have a minimal effect on overall economics. PACE assessments generally do not exceed 20% of the total property value; therefore, this means that the PACE exposure in any given year is typically no more than 1% of the property value when PACE financing is extended over a 20-year term. 

  • PACE assessments do NOT accelerate in the event of a mortgage loan default or tax foreclosure. ONLY the PACE assessment amount that is in arrears becomes due. The remaining PACE assessment balance continues with the property until the term end date. 

  • PACE assessments can stay with property upon sale and transfers to new owner. 

  • PACE assessments can be prepaid before the term end date (penalties may apply). 

  • PACE requires no funds from the existing mortgage holder. 

  • PACE improvements reduce energy expenses and increase cash flow of the property owner. 

  • PACE improvements increase the value of the property. 

  • PACE capital typically comes from private sources. This enables property owners to reserve other lines of credit for working capital or non-energy related improvements. 

  • PACE capital does not rely on government funds. 

  • PACE financing repayment process is secure and proven due to using the same special tax assessment structure that has been in place for over 100 years. 

  • For Commercial Real Estate (CRE) property owners with tenants, PACE improvements increase Net Operating Income (NOI)

This program is only available to commercial properties located within the County of St. Louis within the State of Missouri. This includes for-profit businesses, non-residential, tax-exempt properties such as privately-operated community centers and hospitals. The property may be a commercially-owned multifamily building with four or more dwelling units. Properties may be industrial, retail, or other. PACE can fund both new builds and renovations of existing buildings and using PACE to refinance or retroactively pay for recent projects. 

Eligible Properties 

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Eligible Measures

included but not limited to:

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Heating & Cooling 

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Window & Doors

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Roofing

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Energy Efficiency

  • New automated building and HVAC Controls 

  • Variable speed drives (VSDs) on motor fans and pumps

  • High efficiency furnaces

  • Combustion and burner upgrades

  • Building enclosure/envelope improvements 

  • Solar PV system

  • High efficiency heater

  • LED light fixtures

  • Heat recovery and steam traps 

Ineligible Measures

  • Compact flourescent, screw-in lamps 

  • Plug load devices 

  • Measures that are not permanently installed and can be easily removed

  • Measures that save energy solely due to operational or behavioral changes 

  • power correction, power conditioning 

  • Any measure that does not result in energy savings or renewable energy production.

  • Any measure that cannot reexplained in terms of industry-standard engineering or scientific principles 

  • Refrigerant charge (AC/Split Systems/Heat Pumps)

Project Cost

The estimated economic benefit expected from the project during the financing period must be greater than the cost of the project. This includes the costs of energy audits. A property owner making or installing an improvement or application using PACE funding must obtain a project proposal from the contractor or project engineer that the improvement or application will achieve a savings-to-investment ratio (SIR) of greater than 1.0.  SIR = total estimated savings over term + total incentives/PACE funding amount

The person or persons possessing the most recent fee title or land contract vendee’s interest of an eligible property as shown by the records of the local County Register of Deeds. To be eligible to participate in the program, an eligible property owner must, at a minimum:

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  1. Agree to participate in annual surveys and program evaluations, which may include access to utility bill usage information. Set the PACE encourages parties to enroll in the Better Buildings Challenge and share the buildings’ energy data through EPA Portfolio Manager.

  2. Obtain written consent of existing mortgage lenders of participation in the PACE program

  3. Certify that they (and its corporate parent if the property owner is a single-purpose entity) are solvent and that no proceedings are pending or threatened in which the property owner (or the corporate parent, as applicable) may be adjudicated as bankrupt, become the debtor in a bankruptcy proceeding, be discharged from all of the property owner’s (or corporate parent’s, as applicable) debts or obligations, be granted an extension of time to pay the property owner’s debts or be subjected to a reorganization or readjustment of the property owner’s  debts. The property owner must also certify that the property owner has not filed for or been subject to bankruptcy protection in the past three years.

  4. Be current in the payment of all obligations secured by the subject property, including property taxes, assessments and tax liens and have had no delinquencies within the past 3 years (or since taking title to the subject property if it has been less than 3 years). 

  5. Have no involuntary liens, defaults or judgments applicable to the subject property.

  6. Certify that it is not party to any litigation or administrative proceeding of any nature in which the property owner has been served, and that no such litigation or administrative proceeding is pending or threatened that, if successful, would materially adversely affect the property owner’s ability to operate its business or pay the contractual assessment when due.

Eligible Property Owners

Interest rates and fees

PACE lenders may charge the market interest rate on PACE loans, plus applicable fees. PACE market and the particular terms of each loan should not be confused with the market rate of traditional commercial mortgage financing. Set the PACE has the following fees for PACE projects:

  1. one-time program operation fee for standard projects* of 1.25% for projects under $1,000,000 and a 1% fee for projects over $1,000,000 with a cap of $40,000. This fee will be collected as part of closing.

  2. Annual servicing fees is .01% of the annual collected amount not to exceed $1000.

  3. For each annual assessment payment provided to the Assessor of the city of St. Louis, it will assess a 0.625% fee. Additionally those assessments collected bu the City Collector of Revenue will be assessed a 1.5% fee for each annual assessment payment. These.fees are subject to adjustment by changes in state statue. Amerinat provides servicing for the assessment at $400 per assessment per year, whether collected directly by AmeriNat or by the County of St. Louis.

For questions on eligible PACE projects, contact the PACE manager at PACE@moenergy.org or 573-616-1046 

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