Homeowners, governments, schools, nonprofits or businesses all have opportunities finance building efficiency, renewable energy, or electrification projects.
PACE, Property Assessed Clean Energy, is an innovative way for property owners to finance energy efficiency, water conservation, renewable energy and other related projects.
Essentially PACE is a lien against your property assessment. Dane County is one of about 50 counties in Wisconsin where businesses and nonprofits have access to this financing mechanism.
Homeowners are not eligible for PACE financing in Wisconsin, see the Green Mortgages tab for loans that offer similar benefits. Multifamily buildings with 5 units or more can access PACE but smaller buildings cannot.
A key benefit of PACE is that the financing can be set up so that your repayments are smaller than your energy savings—so that you realize bottom line savings even while you pay for the project installation.
The IRA is going to make projects more affordable for businesses and nonprofits in our area. If the upfront capital is still a barrier for you, PACE is a great solution.
Green or Energy Efficient Mortgages - Banks and mortgage lenders can offer a house buyer preferential terms if they demonstrate that the property for which they are borrowing meets certain environmental standards. This could be for a newly built home or for renovations that improve a building’s environmental performance. These are incentives for a borrower to either buy a green building or renovate an existing one to make it greener because the lender would offer a lower interest rate or an increased loan amount.
Local governments and school districts can use Green Bonds to finance the clean energy aspects of a project. Some businesses also use green bonds for sustainability projects.
Green bonds can be used for new construction or retrofits.
Focus on Energy has information on other financing opportunities as well as rebates that can reduce the cost of a project.
