As PACE Pioneer Ygrene Energy Fund Reaches 2000 Projects Funded in Florida, Hurricane Preparedness Drives 50% of Retrofits in the State

Cities and counties in Florida cite climate concerns as key driver behind more than $50M in retrofit projects

MIAMI, FL -- Ygrene Energy Fund, a leading multi-state provider of residential and commercial PACE financing, today announced a major milestone in Florida, underscoring the state's position as one of the most active PACE markets in the nation. As the first and largest PACE provider in Florida, Ygrene, through its zero upfront financing program Ygrene, has now funded more than 2000 projects in Miami-Dade and Broward Counties, enabling renewable energy efficiency and hurricane resiliency retrofits for businesses, homeowners and multifamily housing across the state.

"When Ygrene first brought PACE to Florida in 2013, it had to work uphill in terms of education. For those of us working within the municipalities, PACE was such a new funding option that most of our cities and counties had never heard of it and couldn't get their heads around the promise and benefits of PACE financing," said Francis Suarez, City of Miami Commissioner, District 4. "That's all changed quickly as we rally as a state to protect our property and livelihoods. After utilizing Ygrene to finance the retrofits on my own home, I can attest to the affordability and ease of the program and count myself as an advocate.

As rising sea levels and climate threats reach new levels of urgency, Ygrene revealed that more than 50% of Ygrene projects in 2015 in Florida were for what it deems "hurricane preparedness," including impact resistant windows, doors and roofing, foundation strengthening and secondary water barriers. In the Miami-Dade district, hurricane resilience projects are even higher, accounting for close to 75% of retrofit projects.

Available in more than 200 communities across the U.S., Ygrene provides financing for energy efficiency, water conservation, renewable energy and hurricane protection retrofits for homes and businesses. In Florida, new cities such as Gainesville, Tallahassee and Hollywood steadily continue joining the Program's growing list of areas serviced, adding to an established, core base of communities, including Miami and Coral Gables, which now covers a population of approximately 1.5 million people. PACE financing programs such as Ygrene are authorized by local governments in an effort to stimulate local economies, generate jobs, address climate change and provide communities wider access to low-cost, money-saving home improvement funds. Since its inception, Ygrene has approved more than $1 billion in applications and closed $300 million in projects nationally, producing more than $750M in economic stimulus, 4,500 jobs and 19MW of energy. Together these projects have saved 1.3 billion gallons of water and enough energy to power 300,000 homes for a full year, while also keeping 360K metric tons of CO₂ from entering the atmosphere.

"Ygrene is bringing highly accessible and affordable financing options to combat climate change and reduce energy consumption in Florida," said Stacey Lawson, CEO and President of Ygrene. "Today marks a noteworthy milestone for our program as we expand to help more property owners invest in environmental resiliency for their homes and businesses."

About Ygrene Energy Fund
Ygrene Energy Fund is a leading residential and commercial provider of clean energy financing throughout the United States. The award winning, privately funded Ygrene program provides immediately accessible financing with no upfront costs for energy efficiency, renewable energy, water conservation and, in certain areas, hurricane protection, electric vehicle charging stations and seismic upgrades. Ygrene is committed to making it easy for families to invest in their future and a healthier environment. Over the next five years, Ygrene is projected to create tens of thousands of local jobs and invest hundreds of millions into local economies. Learn more at ygrene.com.

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