PACE Financing: A Scalable Tool for Energy and Water Efficiency, Resilience, and Economic Development
02/10/2026
40m
Property Assessed Clean Energy (PACE) Overview
Overview
This session provided a comprehensive overview of Property Assessed Clean Energy (PACE)
financing and how it enables commercial, industrial, and nonprofit property owners
to invest in energy, water, and resilience upgrades using long-term, low-cost private
capital. PACE allows facilities to fund infrastructure improvements upfront while
repaying the cost over time through a voluntary property assessment aligned with the
useful life of the assets.
The presentation focused on how PACE fills capital gaps, supports long-term planning, and accelerates clean energy and efficiency investments across Texas.
Expert Insights & Key Takeaways
PACE unlocks long-term financing for efficiency and resilience
By using a property assessment as security, PACE enables 100% financing with repayment
terms of 15–30 years, matching asset lifetimes and allowing projects to be cash-flow
neutral or positive from day one.
Broad eligibility across property types and technologies
PACE applies to commercial, industrial, multifamily, nonprofit, agricultural, healthcare,
data centers, and manufacturing facilities. Eligible projects include energy efficiency,
water conservation, building envelope upgrades, on-site generation, storage, and resilience
investments.
Open-market, voluntary, and private-capital driven
Any qualified lender and contractor may participate, giving owners flexibility to
assemble their own project teams while benefiting from public-sector oversight and
consumer protections.
Supports both retrofits and new construction
PACE finances upgrades to existing buildings as well as above-code performance improvements
in new construction, helping future-proof assets against rising energy and water costs.
Demonstrated impact across Texas
With over $600 million in closed projects, PACE has supported offices, hotels, hospitals,
manufacturing facilities, multifamily housing, religious institutions, and senior
living developments—delivering measurable energy savings, water savings, job creation,
and resilience benefits.
Strong protections for lenders and mortgage holders
PACE assessments are non-accelerating, require mortgage holder consent, and are limited
by loan-to-value and savings-to-investment ratio requirements, ensuring financial
stability and risk mitigation.
Future Outlook
As energy demand, water constraints, and capital costs continue to rise, PACE financing
is positioned to play a growing role in infrastructure modernization, resilience planning,
and decarbonization. Expanded adoption across Texas and nationally will enable more
facilities to invest in efficient, resilient systems without competing for internal
capital—supporting economic development, grid stability, and long-term sustainability
goals.
Guest Speaker
