FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: July 11, 2014
CONTACT: Kevin DelGobbo, Office of the Mayor, City of Waterbury
Phone: (203) 574-6712 / E-mail: kdelgobbo@waterburyct.org
WATERBURY LAUNCHES COMMERCIAL AND INDUSTRIAL CLEAN ENERGY FINANCING PROGRAM
New Program to Support Businesses and Promote Job Growth in Waterbury
(WATERBURY, CT) -- Businesses in Waterbury can now get 100% upfront, low-cost, and long-term financing to make clean energy improvements to their buildings. Waterbury has opted into a state-wide program called Commercial and Industrial Property Assessed Clean Energy (C-PACE), which allows commercial and industrial property owners to access upfront funding for all energy improvement costs and to repay that investment through a benefit assessment charge on their property tax bill.
Benefit assessments are a safe and familiar tool used by municipalities to finance projects including street paving, water and sewer systems, and street lighting. The repayment obligation transfers automatically to the next owner if the property is sold. Similar to a sewer tax assessment, capital provided under the C-PACE program is secured by a lien on the property, so low-interest capital can be raised from the private sector.
C-PACE is administered by the Clean Energy Finance and Investment Authority (CEFIA) as part of the State’s Energize Connecticut initiative, which is intended to help consumers save money and use clean energy.
Mayor Neil M. O’Leary sees this as a fantastic economic development tool and a tremendous opportunity for Waterbury businesses.
“This program is going to help our businesses lower their energy costs, improve their buildings, and attract and retain tenants right here in Waterbury,” Mayor O’Leary said. “CEFIA has created an extremely low-risk product that will finally allow our owners to catch up on deferred maintenance and access clean energy technologies like energy efficiency solar at no upfront cost.”
The program requires that energy upgrades eligible for financing must lower the energy consumption of the building or enable the building to produce clean energy, so building owners come out ahead from day one. In addition, the C-PACE program includes a 3rd Party Technical Review process to verify that projected energy savings are realized. Typical C-PACE measures include high efficiency lighting, heating ventilation air conditioning (HVAC) upgrades and controls, high efficiency chillers, boilers, furnaces and water heating systems, building envelope improvements, energy management systems, and renewable energy systems such as solar and fuel cells.
Waterbury now joins several other municipalities that have already adopted C-PACE, including Stamford, Bridgeport, Norwalk, Hartford, Middletown, Durham, West Hartford, Beacon Falls, Windham, Simsbury, Wilton, Old Saybrook, and Westport, which are now eligible for this financing.
The city, in partnership with CEFIA, will host two breakfast forums to educate property owners about the C-PACE program and other energy efficiency opportunities. Waterbury property owners wishing to register for the breakfast forums are asked to contact Joe McGrath or Saranda Belica in the Mayor’s Office at 203-574-6712, or register via email. Registration is required. The breakfasts are free of charge. More information and the online C-PACE application can be found at www.energizect.com/c-pace or www.waterburyct.org/cpace.
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About the Clean Energy Finance and Investment Authority
CEFIA was established by Connecticut’s General Assembly on July 1, 2011 as a part of Public Act 11-80. This new quasi-public agency supersedes the former Connecticut Clean Energy Fund. CEFIA’s mission is to help ensure Connecticut’s energy security and community prosperity by realizing its environmental and economic opportunities through clean energy finance and investments. As the nation’s first full-scale clean energy finance authority, CEFIA will leverage public and private funds to drive investment and scale-up clean energy deployment in Connecticut. For more information about CEFIA, please visit www.ctcleanenergy.com.
About Energize Connecticut
Energize Connecticut helps you save money and use clean energy. It is an initiative of the Clean Energy Finance and Investment Authority, the Energy Efficiency Fund, the State, and your local electric and gas utilities, with funding from a charge on customer energy bills. Information on energy programs can be found at www.EnergizeCT.com.