Greenworks Lending – a Financier of Commercial Property Assessed Clean Energy (C-PACE) Loans Announced That It Has Closed Four C-PACE Transactions Totaling $1 Million
Stamford, CT (PRWEB) August 28, 2015 -- On August 26 2015, Greenworks Lending – a financier of Commercial Property Assessed Clean Energy (C-PACE) loans – announced that it has closed four C-PACE transactions totaling $1 million. These represent the first C-PACE transactions in the State of Connecticut directly financed by a private lender and signal an important new chapter for the Connecticut Green Bank’s C-PACE program.
C-PACE is an innovative and affordable way for commercial, industrial and nonprofit building owners to pay for green energy upgrades. C-PACE financing covers 100% of project costs with no money down and is repaid as a long-term assessment on the property. C-PACE makes green energy upgrades accessible and allows owners to immediately increase cash flow and improve their building’s overall value.
The Connecticut Green Bank sponsored the enabling legislation for C-PACE to advance its mission of accelerating adoption of green energy through the creation of affordable financing mechanisms and thriving markets that attract and deploy private capital. Since then, the Green Bank has designed an award-winning C-PACE program and utilized its own capital to stimulate private investment in over $50M in energy upgrades throughout the state and over $80M in approved loans since its launch in 2013.
With a view to scale this market, the Green Bank released a “Standard Offer” in January 2015 that clarifies how private capital providers can directly finance building upgrades through C-PACE. The projects funded by Greenworks Lending represent the first C-PACE transactions in Connecticut to be financed through this process, with no investment or credit support provided by the Green Bank.
“The administrative and programmatic standardization across the CT market allows our company to move these transactions quickly and enables building owners to access the low-cost, long term capital they need to get projects completed,” said Greenworks Lending CEO, Jessica Bailey. Based in Stamford, Greenworks Lending was founded in March 2015 with the goal of scaling C-PACE financed energy upgrades around the country. “We founded this company to bring this innovative financing option to more building owners in more places. Closing the first privately financed deals in our home state of Connecticut is incredibly exciting and puts Connecticut once again in a leadership position.”
“The role of the Green Bank is to be catalytic in attracting private capital into our state. We are delighted that Greenworks Lending is working to grow the C-PACE market in Connecticut’s communities,” said CT Green Bank President Bryan Garcia. “We know that the entrance of market participants like Greenworks will allow C-PACE to scale more quickly in Connecticut and we are happy to see these first deals close, which lower the energy costs of these consumers while increasing their property value as a result of the energy improvements,” Garcia said.
According to Green Earth Energy President, Chris Scyocurka, the solar contractor on one of the projects, “the process of working with Greenworks through the C-PACE program was simple and effective. The partnership with Greenworks will allow us to offer an attractive financing option for our solar customers.”
Whaling City, a New London-based Ford, Lincoln, and Mazda dealer was one of the initial transactions financed through Greenworks Lending announced today. Romana Primus, the President of the car dealership stated “with no money-down financing through Greenworks Lending, going solar made economic sense for us. Greenworks has proven itself as a great partner in navigating the application process and providing financing. Our company has been family owned in CT for almost 60 years and we are pleased that we can benefit from this program. We look forward to decades of solar production financed through C-PACE.”
Mike Licamele of MSL Group, a Connecticut based commercial energy project developer, has this to say: “C-PACE is an incredibly attractive financing option for our customers. The program designed by the Green Bank is best-in-class and we are excited to close our first projects with Greenworks Lending. Having a financing partner with deep familiarity of how C-PACE works is incredibly valuable.”
“The goal of our C-PACE program is to increase the number of buildings that take advantage of this innovative program,” notes Genevieve Sherman, the Director of the C-PACE program for the Green Bank. “With over 35,000 commercial buildings in Connecticut representing billions of dollars in potential energy upgrades, the Standard Offer was designed to encourage capital providers to come into CT to help us grow the implementation of clean energy faster, with fewer public dollars. We are thrilled to see these first privately-financed deals closed.”
About Greenworks Lending
Greenworks Lending is an origination and financing company targeting cost saving, clean energy upgrades for commercial real estate using PACE (Property Assessed Clean Energy) financing. Our mission is to improve the energy efficiency of our country by creating a new normal for financing energy upgrades in buildings. http://www.greenworkslending.com
About the Connecticut Green Bank
The Connecticut Green Bank (formerly the Clean Energy Finance and Investment Authority) was established by the Connecticut General Assembly on July 1, 2011 as a part of Public Act 11-80. As the nation’s first full-scale green bank, it is leading the clean energy finance movement by leveraging public and private funds to scale-up renewable energy deployment and energy efficiency projects across Connecticut. The Green Bank’s success in accelerating private investment in clean energy is helping Connecticut create jobs, increase economic prosperity, promote energy security and address climate change. http://www.ctgreenbank.com.
About PACENow:
PACENow is a non-profit foundation funded advocate for Property Assessed Clean Energy (PACE) financing. PACENow’s mission is to promote improved energy efficiency in buildings and use of PACE. Our strategy is to be a trusted source for information and resources to a growing coalition of PACE stakeholders that includes local governments, businesses, industry service providers, labor and trade organizations, environmental groups and private individuals nationwide.
Kristina Klimovich, PACENow, http://www.pacenow.org, +1 5105893154, [email protected]
Share this article