Time to Support PACE Financing! (It’s Good for You)

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Yes, I wrote just a few weeks ago on two opportunities to save (or resurrect) PACE financing — one of the best things that happened to local, democratized, clean energy… before it was killed — and one of those opportunities still remains (you can still ask your Representative to co-sponsor a PACE financing bill via Vote Solar).

However, I’ve had an article from a friend and former (long-time-ago) CleanTechnica writer, Jeff Kart, pending in my “stories to cover” list since about that time and am finally able to come back to it today. After summarizing the history of PACE a bit, Jeff offered another opportunity for getting involved in bringing PACE back from the dead.

“An advocacy group called PACE NOW is encouraging people to voice support for the program.”

If you’re not sold on the importance of PACE and ready to take action yet, though, Jeff also did a good job of quickly summarizing some of PACE Now’s arguments:

The bottom line, says the group: “PACE programs can drive energy projects that result in significant economic activity, federal, state and local tax revenue and jobs.” They point to examples like a PACE program in Boulder County, Colorado, which created more than 120 jobs, generated $20 million in overall economic activity and cut consumer energy use by more than $125,000 in its first year.

A national study commissioned by PACE NOW also concluded that $1 million spent on PACE improvements in four U.S. cities would generate $10 million in gross economic activity, a total of $1 million in federal, state and local tax revenue, and 60 jobs.

The four cities used in the study (by ECONorthwest) included Columbus, Ohio; along with Long Island, N.Y.; Santa Barbara, Calif.; and San Antonio, Texas.

Now that you are fully sold on it, here’s the important part: you can submit comments in support of PACE to the federal government up through March 26. You’ve got some time, but don’t sit on it until it’s too late! Healthy democracy relies on an informed and active citizenry.

And, again, you can also still sign that letter to your Representative asking him or her to co-sponsor a PACE bill (all you have to do on that one is stick in your zip code and hit submit).