Florida looks at PACE for energy efficiency

Imagine being able to refit a home or business with new central air conditioning, efficient water heaters and hurricane-resistant windows.

The utility bill would certainly go down. But how would you pay for the front-end cost? And wouldn’t it be unfortunate if you had to move after all the trouble?

Proposed Florida legislation would allow a new method for funding energy-efficient improvements using a Property Assessed Clean Energy (PACE) bond.

PACE bonds, already used in California, would be issued only by municipalities that opted into the program. It would allow property owners to pay for certain improvements that are proven to lower utility costs. The front-end costs are paid back over time, through an assessment on a property’s tax bill.

If you move, the assessment stays with the property where the improvements are located; it doesn’t follow you.

The bill is being handled in the House of Representatives by state Rep. Adam Hasner, R-Delray Beach, the majority leader.

Hasner says he’s a fiscal conservative, but doesn’t see the PACE program as a conflict with those values, primarily because it would only affect people who voluntarily choose it.

Read the full story in the South Florida Business Journal.