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Three dealerships of the Sullivan Auto Group have installed an extensive $5.7 million clean-energy project that’s expected to cut energy use by about 87 percent.

Some of the greatest savings are expected to come from replacing the existing lighting at three dealerships with LED lighting. Skylights in the Toyota Truck Center are also expected to cut electric use. All three dealerships are in the Roseville Automall.

The energy upgrade work is being paid for through Property-Assessed Clean Energy (PACE) financing from Placer County’s mPower program, which pays the upfront cost of the upgrades, and the improvements are paid in annual property tax assessments.

This is the largest PACE financing in Placer County, and it is believed to be the largest in the region, said Alexia Retallack, a spokeswoman for Placer County. In 2013, a four-building office complex in South Natomas received a $3.2 million energy efficiency retrofit, which at that time was the nation’s largest PACE energy upgrade.

The Roseville dealership project received 20-year financing, and the upgrades will pay for the work and then return an additional $2.9 million in energy savings over 25 years, Retallack said. The federally approved PACE financing allows state and local governments to let homeowners and owners of commercial property finance water and energy efficiency improvements through property tax payments over five, 10 or 20 years.

Read the full article at the Sacramento Business Journal.