KANSAS CITY, Mo., July 5, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Renovate America,
the leading provider of residential Property Assessed Clean Energy
(PACE) financing in the U.S., and the Missouri Clean Energy
District (MCED) today announced a recruitment effort to register
local contractors to offer new kinds of financing for Missouri homeowners to make energy-efficient
and renewable energy improvements. HERO, Missouri's new residential PACE program,
will give local contractors an important new tool for growing their
businesses and reaching more customers with energy-saving
technologies. The program enables clean energy upgrades to be paid
for over time through local property taxes, at a fixed interest
rate for terms of five to 20 years, based on the useful life of the
product. The name HERO stands for Home Energy Renovation
Opportunity.
"Every year, one in six homeowners replaces a system that
consumes energy. Three-quarters of the time they choose inefficient
technology that ends up costing them more over the long term in
higher energy bills," said Joe
Suggs, Vice President for Operations in Missouri for Renovate America. "HERO can solve
that marketplace failure while helping homeowners save on energy
bills, local contractors create clean energy jobs, and local
governments reduce emissions."
"I'm very excited about the HERO program because it will make
energy efficiency and renewable energy upgrades more affordable for
homeowners -- improving our customers' sense of comfort in their
homes while reducing their energy bills over time. HERO can be a
game changer for my business and my customers," said Steve Burbridge, co-owner of local contractors
Anthony Plumbing, Heating & Cooling.
As a partner with local government, PACE financing includes
additional requirements to protect consumers not found in other
payment options like credit cards or home equity loans. For
example, the HERO program will only pay a contractor after the
homeowner signs off that the job has been completed to their
satisfaction. Contractors must be in good standing with HERO;
products and labor must meet competitive pricing standards; and
homeowners select from products certified as efficient by local,
state and federal government authorities.
Through Missouri law, HERO will
enable thousands more property owners in jurisdictions that adopt
the program to finance improvements such as energy-saving roofing,
windows, and doors, a more efficient HVAC system, building
insulation, or solar panels. Since these improvements stay with the
home, PACE financing is repaid through the property taxes, interest
may be tax deductible, and any remaining balance may be able to be
passed to a new owner. HERO financing does not require upfront
payments, so it may be a good solution when a system fails and or
needs an upgrade for which a homeowner has not saved. Homeowners
qualify based on equity in the property and a proven track record
of on-time mortgage and property tax payments.
Contractors are able to create new, clean-energy jobs thanks to
resources provided by HERO, such as an integrated software platform
that helps connect contractors with homeowners and hundreds of
thousands of eligible products, and makes financing seamless and
straightforward. HERO also offers low-interest working capital and
marketing resources to help small home improvement contractors
expand their businesses.
HERO will be available within cities and counties that have
joined the Missouri Clean Energy District. Local governments can
join simply by passing a resolution. Contractors interested in
offering HERO financing can register at
https://register.renovateamerica.com/. Once the program officially
launches in Jackson County this
summer, homeowners in the county can begin using HERO to finance
clean-energy improvements.
In California, where PACE
financing began, HERO has been used by more than 66,000 homeowners
since 2012 to make more than $1.5
billion in efficiency improvements, creating more than
13,500 local jobs and generating more than $2.7 billion in local economic activity.
In addition to residential PACE, HERO has already launched its
commercial PACE program, financing a solar panel system on the
Kansas City Scottish Rite Temple. The installation consists of 300
250-watt solar panels, and is projected to produce 105,000 kWh of
renewable solar energy annually, enough to fully power eight
average Missouri homes, and
utility savings over $786,000 over
the life of the system. The project also benefitted from a
$75,000 rebate provided by Kansas
City Power & Light. The Temple was originally constructed in
1930, and is of classic Greek design of the Ionic order. The
contractor is Sunsmart Technologies, which has been serving the
Kansas City area since 2012.
Prior to partnering with HERO, the Missouri Clean Energy
District used PACE financing to make energy upgrades on multiple
property types including multi-family, commercial office space, and
public projects.
About Renovate America
Renovate America
partners with state and local governments to offer HERO, a property
assessed clean energy (PACE) financing program, to communities.
HERO is the leading PACE program in the U.S. and has financed more
than $1.5 billion of improvements,
representing the vast majority of residential PACE projects
nationwide. This unique public-private partnership offers consumers
access to financing for more than 60 types of products that reduce
energy and water consumption, without the need for government
funding. The HERO Program has received a number of recognitions
including a Climate Leadership Certificate for Innovative
Partnerships by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, inclusion
in the 2016 White House Water Summit, the Governor's Environmental
and Economic Leadership Award in California, and the Urban Land Institute Best
of the Best.
About the Missouri Clean Energy District
The Missouri
Clean Energy District (MCED) is a statewide political subdivision
established to provide unlimited capital to fund energy efficiency
and renewable energy projects through PACE financing. Property
owners – both public and private – in member communities may apply
for PACE financing for energy-saving upgrades and retrofits to
their property. Missouri
communities may join the District to make funding available to all
property owners within their jurisdiction. There is no membership
cost to local governments and no fiscal risk, because no public
funds are used for financing. The Missouri Clean Energy District
has engaged a program administrator to interact with local district
members and review applications to arrange funding.
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