Positive Impact of PACE Found by USC Study

The Schwarzenegger Institute of the University of Southern Calfornia recently published a study highlighting the positive impacts of PACE (Property Assessed Clean Energy) Program on the economies of California and Florida. (This study covered PACE projects completed by Ygrene Energy Fund from 2013-2018). It was found that to date, Ygrene PACE projects have resulted in a reduction of 1.57 million metric tons of carbon dioxide emissions, an additional $3.2 billion in economic output stimulus, and 27,000 new job years created and sustained throughout local economies. The study defines PACE financing as "a way to finance a wide range of energy and water efficiency, renewable energy, and hazard mitigation improvements permanently attached to residential and commercial properties. Established by state statutes and enabled by local governments, PACE financing, unlike traditional alternatives, is structured as an assessment to the property and not the property owner. PACE provides one hundred percent of the cost of qualified structural improvements, which the property owner repays annually or semi-annually through a special assessment added to the property tax bill".

The study goes on to explain that the direct benefits of PACE are "rather straightforward", referring to how energy-efficient projects tend to reduce energy and water usage by the population, reduce pollutants in the environment, and reduce overall hazard vulnerability. But the study then expands upon this and said that there are also substantial co-benefits that can be found through both direct and indirect means. S