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Pennsylvania sees first use of C-PACE loan for renewable energy – Smart Energy Decisions
Shared from Smart Energy Decisions: https://www.smartenergydecisions.com/renewable-energy/2020/08/19/pennsylvania-sees-first-use-of-c-pace-loan-for-renewable-energy
See the list of counties that have approved CPACE already! https://pennsylvaniacpace.org/participating-counties/
If you have a potential project in a county that has not yet enacted the resolution contact Sustainable Energy Fund at 610-264-4440 or email cpace@thesef.org to find the status of the county and next steps.
All that you need to know can be found here https://pennsylvaniacpace.org/. Note: banks need to “register” with Sustainable Energy Fund at 610-264-4440 or email cpace@thesef.org to participate.
Monday, August 24th 2015
From greentechmedia.com:
Some barriers to popularizing the property-assessed clean energy (PACE) program across the U.S. were cleared today with an announcement made by President Obama at the National Clean Energy Summit in Las Vegas, Nevada.
PACE loan programs let homeowners finance energy-efficiency upgrades, such as adding insulation and water savings measures or installing energy-efficient windows or solar panels, to be paid back as a line item on the homeowner’s property tax bill. This lowers the risk for lenders and owners and can potentially build a much larger energy-efficiency market.
But PACE obligations enjoy first-lien status in most states, making municipalities first in line to be repaid — ahead of the mortgage agencies, in case of default — and mortgage agencies don’t like that.
So today, the White House and the Federal Housing Administration (FHA) established a new PACE guidance aiming to “remove existing barriers and accelerate the use of PACE financing for single-family housing.” (The FHA guidance letter can be found here.)
According to the California Association of Realtors, the FHA guidance will require PACE liens to be subordinate to FHA single-family first-mortgage financing,
As Cisco DeVries, CEO of Renew Financial, notes in a release, “The FHA, which insures over 20 percent of new mortgage originations in the United States, outlined a set of principles associated with their new guidance — including allowing PACE financing to transfer between owners during the sale of the home if the PACE lien can be subordinated during a foreclosure.”
In a statement from today, Ed Golding, head of the FHA, wrote, “PACE allows homeowners to benefit from the improvements immediately and spread the cost over time. When the property is sold, the PACE loan may transfer to the next owner, who is responsible for repaying the loan. The ability to transfer the loan to the new owner allows for both the payment and the value of the retrofit to be transferred from one owner to the next.”
California completed about $500 million in residential PACE projects for approximately 25,000 homes in 2014, according to PACENow, a nonprofit that promotes the PACE model.
Read more at greentechmedia.com:
Friday, May 1st 2015
From CNET.com:
Tesla Motors CEO Elon Musk officially announced two battery backup solutions, one for homes and one for industrial use, at an event at the company’s Southern California design studio. The lithium-ion battery modules can store electricity from solar panels and serve to balance loads from the grid, charging up during non-peak energy usage hours, then providing energy to a home or facility during peak hours.
Homeowners will be able to get the Powerwall, which Tesla will sell in 7 and 10 kilowatt-hour modules. Musk said that certified installers could buy the smaller pack for $3,000 and the larger pack for $3,500 (UK and Australian details were not announced).
For industrial applications, Tesla offers the Powerpack, sold in 100 kilowatt-hour modules at $25,000 each. Musk said that Tesla would work with industrial customers on these installations. The battery backup systems come under a new product line at Tesla called Tesla Energy.
Read more at CNET.com
Wednesday April 22nd, 2015
It might not be a blockbuster bill, but Congress easily passed efficiency legislation yesterday proving that one energy issue both sides can get behind is simply using less energy. From the New York Times:
‘The bill, which President Obama is expected to sign into law this week, is a modest one. But its authors, Senator Rob Portman, Republican of Ohio, and Senator Jeanne Shaheen, Democrat of New Hampshire, who had worked together for years on more ambitious energy-saving legislation, called it a significant victory.
“On the bill’s merits — creating jobs, saving consumers money and reducing pollution — it was never a hard sell,” Ms. Shaheen said. “The tough part was convincing Washington to not play politics with a good idea.”
Mr. Portman said, “Our targeted energy efficiency bill has garnered widespread support because of a simple fact: It is good for the economy and good for the environment.”’
Amen. So what exactly does the legislation entail?
“The narrower bill would create a voluntary program for landlords and tenants to improve energy efficiency in commercial buildings, mandate that large electric water heaters be run in a highly energy-efficient manner and require federal agencies to perform energy-use assessments on commercial buildings that they lease.”
Read more at NYTimes.com
Thursday, April 2nd 2015
Members of SEI’s Board of Directors and a handful of guests toured Independence LED‘s Boyertown, PA LED factory yesterday. The group learned how various components are manufactured into high-performance LED light fixtures for almost any application right here in Southeastern Pennsylvania.
Special thanks for Charlie Szoradi, Chairman and CEO of Independence LED, and his team for showing us their facility!
Friday December 19th, 2014
From the Energy Information Agency’s always informative Today in Energy Blog:
The electric power generation sector lost more than 5,800 jobs from January 2011 through June 2014 despite a gain of nearly 1,800 non-hydro renewable electricity generation jobs, according to the latest data available from the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS).
BLS data shown here only reflect jobs in electric power generation, not the jobs associated with electric transmission and distribution systems. Also, jobs involved in the construction of new facilities, processing or transportation of fuels, or behind-the-meter distributed generation installations and service (e.g., solar panel installers) are not counted by BLS as jobs in the electric power sector.
The overall decline in electric power generation jobs coincides with a period in which the United States has seen declining year-over-year electricity sales, driven by energy efficiency improvements, and growth in distributed generation, such as behind-the-meter rooftop solar, among other factors. Additionally, the growth in some types of non-hydro renewable generation, particularly wind and solar, brings relatively few ongoing operations and maintenance jobs.
Read more on the Energy Information Agency’s Today in Energy Blog.
Monday, December 8th 2014
The Smart Energy Initiative hosted “The Business Case for LED Lighting” on December 3rd at the Chester County Economic Development Council. Charlie Szoradi, Chairman and CEO of Independence LED, presented on the technologies, retrofit considerations, cost of ownership metrics, and more. Bill Ronayne, Chair of the Smart Energy Initiative and President of Brandywine Valley Heating and Air Conditioning presented a case study 
from his own warehouse.
Special thanks to PECO Smart Ideas for hosting the event!
Click here to download a PDF version of the presentation, or watch on YouTube:
Part 1 of 3: http://youtu.be/WvFPKf0kdR0
Part 2 of 3: http://youtu.be/WE8LeesTcsU
Part 3 of 3: http://youtu.be/yWfMdgUo2gg
Friday, November 21st 2014
From Wired.com:
Over the past few years, Apple, Google, and Facebook pledged to run their online empires on renewable energy, and considering how large these empires have become—how many data centers and machines are now required to keep them going—this was a vital thing. But despite pressure from the likes of Greenpeace, the environmental activism organization, the other big internet name, Amazon, didn’t budge.
That all changed on Wednesday. With a post on its website, Amazon’s cloud computing division—Amazon Web Services—said it has a “long-term commitment to achieve 100 percent renewable energy usage for our global infrastructure footprint.”
Amazon is the largest cloud computing company in the world, providing services where developers and business can rent computing power. Many popular websites and services, such as Netflix, Spotify and Pinterest, all use the Amazon cloud. If Amazon cuts its emissions, it could have a significant impact on the tech industry’s carbon footprint.
Wednesday, November 19th 2014
SEI is pleased to post job openings from member companies and partners, as a means of effectively reaching qualified, local candidates in the smart energy industry. Additionally, SEI staff can review applications on you company’s behalf. If you’d liked to post a Job Alert, send descriptions and application instructions to Will Williams.
 This is an exciting time for the Energy Coordinating Agency and they have a number of employment opportunities available. The Energy Coordinating Agency (ECA) is a nonprofit, 501 (c) 3 organization dedicated to helping people conserve energy and to promoting a sustainable and socially equitable energy future. ECA’s conservation services prevent the emission of over 8,000 tons of greenhouse gas emissions every year. ECA is registered as an ISO 9001:2008 company.Director of Conservation Services
ECA is hiring a highly skilled, experienced individual to manage its energy conservation department. This key position oversees the day to day operations of utility and publicly funded programs including: the Weatherization Assistance Program, Philadelphia Gas Works Programs, PECO Smart House Call, EnergyFIT Philly and other related programs. The Director supervises field and office staff responsible for intake, scheduling, auditing, installation, client education and inspection; plans and oversees staff training; recruits subcontractors and oversees selection and administration of subcontracts; and insures the quality and productivity of ECA’s conservation services work. Payroll and Human Resources Coordinator ECA is hiring a talented, well organized individual for the position of Payroll and Human Resource Coordinator. This position is responsible for payroll processing, timesheet review, benefits administration, new hire on-boarding, paid time off tracking, and all employee payroll related questions. The Coordinator will be responsible for relationships with all third parties including Workers Compensation, Unemployment, and other payroll related inquiries. The updating of the employee manual and enforcement of its policies will be part of this position’s job functions. Home Energy Auditor ECA is seeking a qualified individual for the position of Home Energy Auditor. The Auditor will be responsible for auditing homes according to BPI protocols, installing selected measures, and educating residents on how to save energy in their home. Qualified candidates are well organized, punctual, friendly, have a thorough knowledge of building science and are proficient with IT and databases. At least two years related experience and BPI certification preferred. |
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Smart Energy Initiative • Chester County Economic Development Council
Eagleview Corporate Center • 737 Constitution Drive • Exton, PA 19341 • 610-458-5700 • Fax: 610-458-7770 |
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