Colorado’s C-PACE Program Project Financings Top $100 Million

Lafayette, CO, April 8, 2021— With the closing last week of three additional projects, the Colorado C-PACE Program has completed $113 million in total project financing. C-PACE, which was authorized by the legislature, operates under the direction of Colorado’s New Energy Improvement District. The enabling legislation established a new type of private financing that is designed to create utility cost savings, reduce carbon emissions, and generate economic activity.

Jeffrey King, Chair of the District’s Board, said, “The program’s projected reduction of 420,289 tons of greenhouse gas emissions from commercial buildings over the life of the projects is a big win for Colorado’s air quality and helps achieve the State’s climate goals.” He added, “That these projects created an estimated 1,213 job-years for our work force clearly demonstrates the economic impact the program brings to our state and communities.”

Brian McCarter, CEO of Sustainable Real Estate Solutions which administers the program said, “C-PACE was designed to meet the needs of all building owners regardless of building size. With project financings that have ranged from $54,000 to $9.9 million across 17 counties, it’s clear that the program is meeting its objectives.”

Launched in 2016, the first two years of the Colorado C-PACE Program were primarily devoted to outreach and County participation engagement efforts. Tracy Phillips, program director of Colorado C-PACE said, “C-PACE is such a great program, one would think it would take off like gangbusters. However, like anything new, it took some time to gain the attention of busy contractors, building owners, developers, and lenders, who are the key to the success of the program.”

Today, with 39 participating lenders, including many community banks and over 250 registered contractors, Colorado has one of the most active and successful programs in the nation. Phillips added, “2021, in spite of Covid-19, is shaping up to be our best year ever with growing participation in both existing building and new construction sectors.”

About Colorado C-PACE

A program of the New Energy Improvement District (NEID), administered by Sustainable Real Estate Solutions, Colorado C-PACE facilitates financing for energy and water improvements in new and existing commercial buildings, including new heating/cooling systems, lighting, water pumps, insulation, and renewable energy projects. C-PACE offers long-term financing that covers 100 percent of the project cost and is repaid over a period of up to 25 years. The payments are structured as a regular line item on the property tax bill.  When a property is sold, the C-PACE assessment can stay with the property and transfer to the new owner, who enjoys the ongoing utility cost savings associated with the project.

About SRS

Sustainable Real Estate Solutions (SRS) partners with state and local governments to administer commercial property assessed clean energy (C-PACE) programs. Founded in 2010 by experienced commercial real estate and energy efficiency professionals, the company’s proprietary technology-enabled EPIC™ Platform streamlines the management of the data-intensive C-PACE technical and financial underwriting process. SRS’s Investor Confidence Project-credentialed quality assurance methodology has facilitated more than $410 million in C-PACE financing nationwide. SRS empowers C-PACE public-private partnerships across the country. The company is based in Trumbull, Connecticut.