Washington DC commercial property owners are to get assistance with the cost of installing solar panels on their buildings, the Washington Post reports.
On August 21, DC Mayor Muriel Bowser made an announcement that the Property Assessed Energy Act (PACE) was in effect, and that its first client was a Brightwood BP gas station.
The Post says that the gas station owner is expected to save a total of approximately $56,000 over the next two decades with the assistance of the PACE program, even with the $157,000 cost of the programme taken into account.
All commercial building owners are able to avoid upfront costs to get solar panels and can arrange relatively low-interest loans. The regional president for United Bank, Thomas Nida told The Post that the programme is a win-win for both sides. Local businesses are more attractive to banks and the commercial property owners save on their energy bills going forward, while the construction work helps the local economy.
The firm appointed to spearhead the initiative is clean energy specialist Urban Ingenuity, which assesses properties to determine whether they are eligible for the programme, based on cost.
Approval will be given if the total accrued interest on the loan is less than the energy savings for the lifetime of the panels.
If the owner sells the property before the solar panels have been completely paid for, the special property assignment is passed on to the next owner automatically.
