Issues & AdvocacyState

Florida Leading on Retrofit Financing
By Zachary Hart, Manager, State Relations

The state of Florida has established itself as a leader in implementing an innovative financing program for energy efficiency retrofits which could make a large positive impact on the design and construction industry. The method, called Property Assessed Clean Energy (PACE) financing, allows commercial building owners to repay the cost of an energy efficiency retrofit through a special assessment on their tax bill. PACE helps keep the cost of capital low by providing a tax lien against the property as security and allowing for a long payback period. Cities across the state are experimenting with different variations on the PACE financing method, which you can read about in brief here. Florida architects have a chance to take advantage of a new funding mechanism which has already attracted over $550 million in private investment in the Miami area alone. A further $2 billion could potentially be available from a newly created statewide bonding authority called the Florida PACE Funding Agency.

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