Property Assessed Clean Energy (PACE) is an innovative model for financing energy efficiency, renewable energy, or water conservation projects in commercial and residential properties. Since it’s inception in 2007, PACE has provided nearly $6 billion in project financing across the U.S. The program has the potential to overcome some of the major barriers to greater efficiency adoption, such as large up-front costs, difficulty obtaining financing, and split incentives between owners and tenants. In addition, there is enormous potential for cities to leverage policies like mandatory benchmarking and audit ordinances to support PACE uptake in the commercial sector. This factsheet describes what PACE financing is, how it works, and what city governments can do to implement a PACE program for private sector buildings.
This resource is part of the City Energy Project Resource Library. Launched in 2019, the library is the culmination of 6+ years of work on the ground in 20 U.S. cities to reduce energy use in large buildings. The City Energy Project is a joint project of IMT and the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC). For more information, visit www.cityenergyproject.org.
