Part One – PACE/CEIP Programs
The year 2022 is upon us, and Blue Harp Consulting has a new Blog Series to start the year. This series is about Municipal Solutions for Increasing Sustainable Local Economic Activity. Part One dives into the innovative clean energy financing tool commonly called “PACE“. Municipalities across Canada should consider investigating this great tool to see if it is right for their community.
What is PACE? PACE stands for “Property Assessed Clean Energy”. It is an interesting program that developed in the United States in 2008 (source: www.paceab.ca). The purpose of the program is to help give homeowners or commercial property owners a new financing tool to allow them to install clean energy related projects on their property. It allows for property owners to make improvements or investments into clean energy related projects on their property with up to 100% of the upfront capital costs covered. Repayment comes through property owners’ property tax bill over a period of time.
In Canada, PACE programs are developing, and we expect the coming few years will bring about a rapid increase in this tool. Currently, there are only a limited number of jurisdictions in Canada that have an active program, but as more awareness about this tool spreads, the more we will see this take off here in Canada.
In Alberta the program goes by the acronym CEIP, which stands for “Clean Energy Improvement Program”. To date, one municipality, the Town of Rocky Mountain House, has an active CEIP, but a number of others have the program under development with launch dates coming soon.
If you are a municipality in Alberta, now is a great time to consider investigating the program. Urban and rural municipalities can all benefit from implementing these programs, in a few key ways:
1) Increased Property Taxes
- Once projects are up and running, your municipality will see increased property tax revenue over the long term!
2) Ability to help direct clean energy or energy efficiency investment
- Benefit local businesses and residents by giving them a new financing tool to work with to help them implement clean energy investments!
- Your municipality can choose which category of property type (such as residential, commercial, farm etc.) to focus on to help direct investment where it may be needed most!
3) Increased local economic activity
- With a well-planned and consistent roll out of a PACE/CEIP initiative, your municipality should expect to see steady, local economic growth!
Depending on the location of your municipality in Canada, there may be certain processes to follow to implement a PACE or CEIP program. Blue Harp Consulting specializes in clean energy projects and would be glad to support your municipality through the investigation and business case building stage, through program development and implementation to marketing, stakeholder engagement, and management of PACE/CEIP programs.
Blue Harp Consulting is currently working with various Governments to originate and develop community focused energy projects. We will work collaboratively with your municipality to help increase the use of clean energy: just reach out to us to book a no obligation consultation to learn how we can help.
Feel free to follow our company page on LinkedIn and stay tuned for Part Two in this blog series!
Do you have questions about our consulting services or this blog post? Connect with Dave via email at: dcarscadden@blueharpconsulting.ca
Blog written by: Dave Carscadden, CEO – Blue Harp Consulting
