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Lafayette, CO— With the recent additions of Mesa, Douglas, Costilla, and Gilpin Counties to the Colorado C-PACE program, 36 counties representing over 83% of the state’s commercial buildings are now participating in the C-PACE program.

C-PACE is governed by Colorado’s New Energy Improvement District (NEID). The program offers owners of commercial, agricultural, and industrial property access to long-term financing (up to 25 years) that covers up to 100 percent of the cost of energy efficiency, renewable energy, and water conservation improvements. For new construction projects that meet program efficiency requirements, up to 20% of eligible project construction costs can be financed by program participating private capital providers.

Tracy Phillips, the Director of the Colorado C-PACE Program, said, “These four counties represent a cross-section of the Colorado communities that the program is designed to serve. From the front-range communities in Douglas County to the Western-slope’s largest city, Grand Junction, to the casinos and supporting buildings in Gilpin’s Central City and Black Hawk, and for rural communities like those in Costilla County, the program’s benefits are attractive to large and small building owners in every corner of the state.”

Jeffrey King, Chair of the District’s Board, said, “April has been a great month for the Colorado C-PACE program. Ongoing adoption of C-PACE by counties state-wide has accelerated project construction and building retrofits which is a win for our environment and our economy. For the environment, we forecast a reduction of 420,289 tons of greenhouse gas emissions. For our workforce, the program has fostered an estimated 1,213 additional job years.”

Phillips added, “The Colorado C-PACE program is dedicated to helping Colorado meet the aggressive goals of the Biden administration’s Build Back Better Plan, which we think can be accomplished in part by engaging the historically difficult to reach and vastly underserved small and medium-sized buildings (SMB) market – which represent 98% of U.S. commercial buildings (<50,000 Sq. Ft.).”

Brian McCarter, CEO of Sustainable Real Estate Solutions, administrator of the Colorado C-PACE program, said, “Since its inception in 2016, the Colorado C-PACE program has been actively working to engage the SMB sector. This market, including rural communities, presents unique challenges that include low property values, resource investment constraints, and lack of service providers that serve this fragmented sector. C-PACE has devoted significant time and resources to engage this underserved market as part of its inclusive approach to building energy efficiency retrofits.”

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. For new construction projects that are designed to exceed the current code, C-PACE is routinely used to finance a portion of the total cost and provide cheaper capital that helps encourage innovative and efficient design.

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 $500 million in C-PACE financing nationwide. SRS empowers C-PACE public-private partnerships across the country. The company is based in Trumbull, Connecticut.