Calling For A Property Assessed Clean Energy (PACE) Program in BC

Roy L Hales/Cortes Currents - In 2008, the city of Berkely had a problem. They wanted to hasten the adoption of solar technology, but the $20,000 to $30,000 bill was too steep for a lot of homeowners. Cisco DeVries, the Mayor’s Chief of Staff, came up with what Scientific American would later call one of the top 20 “world-changing” ideas of the year. The capital would come from private investors, but homeowners could finance energy upgrades through their property taxes. Since then, Property Assessed Clean Energy (PACE) programs have provided more than $13 billion for solar installations and energy saving improvements for homes and businesses in the United States. Cortes Island resident Brian Scott would like to see PACE made available to British Columbians.  

 “I represent two things, an idea and an organization. The idea is the PACE financing tool, which will not be ‘the magic bullet’ but is very close when it comes to our need to address climate change quickly.  PACE specifically addresses the fact that roughly a third of our greenhouse gas emissions come from residential and commercial buildings. I'm representing the concept and promoting it. I also represent PACE Alberta and PACE Canada,” he explained. 

“The key that makes PACE work is that the homeowner isn't borrowing the funds. Their house is borrowing the funds effectively. It doesn't impact their credit rating.  It shouldn't even impact their mortgage because essentially it's just like a  local improvement charge. The bottom line is when you borrow PACE money to upgrade your house, that borrowing effectively flows through the taxation authority and you repay the borrowing through your taxes.”

“PACE unlocks our motivation right across the board, whether it's personal, whether it's private, whether it's government, et cetera. It removes the barriers and it makes it easy to become a sustainable champion and to take action. The proof is that in the US: where those measures have been properly implemented, PACE is growing exponentially. In Canada,  it's a turtle. That's really the bottom line.”