EU Grants €2.4 Million to PACENation Member Global New Energy Finance and its Partners to Bring Innovative US Home Energy Efficiency Retrofit Financing Tool to Europe

The European Commission has awarded a €2.4 million grant to Global New Energy Finance and seven partner organizations to develop the EuroPACE program, inspired by the US PACE financing model that delivers affordable energy efficiency retrofits to homeowners.

PLEASANTVILLE, N.Y. OCTOBER 26, 2017 – PACENation is excited to announce that one of its members, Global New Energy Finance, in collaboration with 7 partner organizations, has been awarded a prestigious Horizon 2020 grant of €2.4 million to bring “Property-Assessed Clean Energy” (PACE) Financing to Europe under the initiative “EuroPACE”.

By adapting PACE to the European market, EuroPACE seeks to boost energy efficiency investment in homes and other buildings using an innovative tax bill based financing mechanism developed first in the US.

EuroPACE will pioneer the mechanism in a city-wide pilot programme in Spain and then develop a standardized implementation toolkit for replication and scale-up across Europe.

EuroPACE will adopt best practice from the US PACE market and further enhance its reach, scope, and overall impact to adapt it to Europe.

EuroPACE aims to dramatically increase energy generation and efficiency investments in the residential stock in Europe. The project impact will go far beyond energy savings to produce a positive social impact for each Euro invested in home renovations.

It will contribute to the creation of resilient and vibrant communities that enjoy economic growth and healthy environments while also addressing climate change goals.

Through green bonds and other instruments, EuroPACE will also create opportunities for pension and insurance investors to participate at scale in the home retrofit market.

David Gabrielson, Executive Director of PACENation said:

“We are thrilled to see the PACE model being adopted in Europe. In the US, PACE has been used by nearly 200,000 homeowners to make energy and resiliency related upgrades that protect the environment and make their properties more comfortable, less expensive to heat and cool, safer, and healthier. The $4 billion spent has also helped create and maintain over 45,000 jobs. We congratulate GNE Finance and its partners.”

Davide Cannarozzi, GNE Finance Managing Partner stated:

“We are very excited that the European Commission chose our project to implement this innovative financing option to boost sustainability and energy efficiency in the European building stock.

“EuroPACE will leverage the US experience to develop a holistic and winning programme for all the stakeholders involved, including homeowners, cities, and energy services contractors.”

Cisco DeVries, CEO of Renew Financial notes:

“We are thrilled that homeowners in Europe will soon have a simple, safe, and reliable way to finance their renovations. EuroPACE has an opportunity to unlock investment in the European residential market, create local jobs and help cities meet their climate and energy goals.”
Jessica Stromback, Chair of Joule Assets Europe noted:

“PACE makes energy efficiency affordable, democratic, and competitive. It has the potential to fast track home owners in Europe to accessing finance for energy efficiency upgrades. Not only does this create unprecedented access to clean energy for all citizens, boosting the market for residential energy efficiency, but in doing so, it will increase competitiveness in the market – meaning better home automation technologies, and increased participation in demand response. Joule Assets Europe is thrilled to be a part of this initiative – it is perfectly in line with our mission to grow the green economy.”

Sean Kidney, CEO of Climate Bonds Initiative commented:

“Household energy efficiency improvements are vital to cut energy bills, create jobs as we upgrade — as well as helping to deliver the 40% of Europe’s emission reductions that need to come from the built environment.” This project will be an important contributor.”

Dr. Steve Fawkes, Managing Partner, EnergyPro Ltd & Senior Adviser, Investor Confidence Project noted:

“Over the last few years PACE financing has transformed the energy efficiency market in the US. Although Europe is more diverse than the US in its property tax systems the EuroPACE project will address the barriers and test practical solutions. It is a great first step to introducing PACE type mechanisms into Europe and everyone with an interest in accelerating the uptake of energy efficiency should be following its progress closely.”

EuroPACE is inspired by the successful PACE financing model pioneered in the US. PACE is used to pay for energy efficiency, renewable energy, water conservation, and seismic and hurricane resistant upgrades to buildings. PACE financing covers up to 100% of a project’s costs and is repaid as a charge added to the property tax bill over a term of up to 30 years. PACE can pay for new heating and cooling systems, lighting improvements, solar panels, water pumps, insulation, and more for almost any property – homes, commercial, industrial, non-profit, and agricultural.
The PACE mechanism solves one of the critical barriers to energy efficiency and renewable energy investment by providing homeowners with long-term financing that stays with the property upon sale.

The proposal for EuroPACE was submitted under the “Innovating Financing Schemes” track of the Horizon 2020 Programme. EuroPACE is a three-year project that will kick off in February 2018. The project involves a residential pilot program in Spain.

For more information please contact Kristina Klimovich (k.klimovich(at)gnefinance(dot)com).

About Global New Energy Finance
Global New Energy Finance (GNE Finance) is an Advisory and Investment Manager for Sustainable Infrastructure and Climate-Aligned Projects that brings the expertise, track-record and network to promote, structure, and finance clean energy projects. GNE Finance is based in Barcelona, Spain and Amsterdam, the Netherlands. GNE Finance’s mission is to bring PACE financing to Europe by leading the EuroPACE project and promoting the idea with the public and private sectors. The company is positioned to be the first PACE provider in Europe and launching a EuroPACE platform for investment aggregation and securitization.

About PACENation
PACENation is a national non-profit organization serving the interests and needs of over 400 member organizations that share a common goal of making PACE financing available to all building owners throughout the United States. PACENation is building a broader PACE network by providing information, resources, and advice to a growing universe of PACE market stakeholders. To learn more, visit http://PACENation.org