Municipalities
How Open C-PACE Works:
New York State's Property Assessed Clean Energy (PACE) public benefit statute (Article 5-L of the General Municipal Law) facilitates paying for energy related improvements to eligible buildings by authorizing municipalities to secure repayment of the financing through a benefit assessment lien.
Energy Improvement Corporation (EIC) administers PACE financing on behalf of its member municipalities.
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Property owners contact participating capital providers to apply for financing.
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EIC qualifies the project according to Article 5-L and NYSERDA’s C-PACE Guidelines. The property owner enters into a Finance Agreement with the capital provider. Consent from existing mortgage holders is required.
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EIC records the property’s Benefit Assessment Lien in the land records of the municipality. The Benefit Assessment Lien is subordinate to municipal taxes and senior to any other lien on the property.
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EIC administers all billing and collecting of the finance payments directly with the owner of the benefited property. In the case of default, the capital provider will have the right to foreclose, after first paying off any delinquent tax liens on the property.
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EIC supplies the municipality with an Annual Report detailing which properties received financing and the amount of the property’s total benefit assessment and annual installments.