Image by Gerd Altmann from Pixabay In the face of rising energy costs and the need to address increasing environmental hazards, sustainability is no longer optional but essential. Retooling and rebuilding our infrastructure is part of the new reality, and the goal should be to make it as enduring and regenerative as possible. The availability…
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The largest C-PACE office loan ever was completed this past summer for sustainability upgrades at 300 Lakeside Drive in Oakland, Calif. According to Patricia Kirk at Commercial Property Executive, C-PACE loans are at an all-time high because they’re amongst the most favorable options on the market. “C-PACE continues to be an increasingly attractive option from…
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Photo by Ahmad Taufikk on Unsplash The Building Decarbonization Coalition — of which we’re members — has just released a remarkable report on “Innovation Acceleration: How building decarbonization has transformed the U.S. building sector in just four years.” The report describes the rapid rise of the building decarbonization concept from near-total obscurity to substantial prominence…
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Rochester appears poised for revitalization—downtown, along the riverway, and in many of the surrounding areas. A recent in-depth article on the challenges in Detroit by Eleanore Catolico, co-published by the Energy News Network and Planet Detroit, provides critical insights that are relevant to Rochester, Buffalo, and other older industrial cities. Link to the full article:…
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A great deal of attention in Upstate and Western New York is given to economic development, and rightly so. In this period of climate disruption, water scarcity, and habitat loss, the region offers enormous potential. Famously, it’s adjacent to more than 20% of the world’s fresh water (the Great Lakes are the largest group of…
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The opportunity, as we come out of the pandemic[1], is to reimagine our future and build forward to address the immediate challenges and create a better future. It’s not about “Building Back Better” but about “Building Forward Better.” To the extent that we fail to recognize this, the crises we face—of climate change, biodiversity…
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Commercial Property Assessed Clean Energy (C-PACE) is available where a county or city has opted into the statewide C-PACE program, including the cities of Rochester, Buffalo, Syracuse, Schenectady, Troy, Niagara, and Ithaca (amongst others); and counties, including Albany, Chautauqua, Erie, Niagara, Wyoming, Yates, and most recently Monroe. This means that commercial property owners (which…
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Interest in the PACE industry is clearly accelerating. The excitement was palpable from the beginning at the PACENation Summit, with a strong emphasis right from the outset on Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) from Summit Chair Kimberly Lewis. The PACE industry was one of the first to adopt a strong DEI policy, ensuring that access…
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Project Numbers: Total C-Pace financing cost = $384,000 Annual savings nearly $60,000 This study follows Lynn Robinson and David Fay who own and operate the Bushnell Theater in Hartford, CT. The owners were experiencing high energy costs due to a huge inefficient heating system that would be “all on, or all off.” They had even…
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UPDATE: Monroe County’s C-PACE program is available immediately, according to a press release issued by Adam Bellow’s office on July 7: Monroe County Executive Adam Bello today announced that commercial building owners and developers in the county can now apply for financing to make energy upgrades through a program called OPEN C-PACE. https://www.monroecounty.gov/files/news/7.7.2021%20Open%20CPACE.pdf On June…
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