PACE – Financing Solar through Property Taxes

There’s a lot of buzz going around about the new PACE program, the latest, revolutionary way to finance your solar installation. Clean Solar is proud to now offer Property Assessed Clean Energy (PACE) to our arsenal of financing options. The program is a great alternative financing method because it is paid through your property taxes. So how can a homeowner finance solar with PACE?

Your local jurisdiction offers you a PACE loan, which is paid back through incremental increases to property taxes over a 5, 10, 15, or 20 year term. Another aspect that makes the program unique is that it is $0 down with the first deferred payment due up to 18 months out, depending on when you pay your property taxes.

So what happens when I sell my home? PACE financing is not based on FICO scores or attached to your credit, so it is automatically transferred to any new homeowners because the loan is attached to the property rather than the individual.

PACE was approved for San Jose in December of 2013, becoming one of the first jurisdictions in the Bay Area to adopt the new program. It has since grown to include all of Santa Clara County, San Mateo County, Alameda County, and Santa Cruz County. To find out specifics on how much you can save and if PACE is right for you, visit our PACE page.