As the new administration moves to step away from sustainable building programs, local government is stepping up with a new program to extend the reach of the state’s Commercial Property Assessed Clean Energy program throughout the North Texas region.
The North Central Texas Council of Governments’ new program will help property owners fund energy efficiency, renewable energy and water conservation projects.
The North Central Texas Council of Governments has established its own C-PACE program to oversee the 16 counties and 169 cities in its service area. The Council of Governments chose C-PACE facilitators Texas PACE Authority and Lone Star PACE as co-administrators for its program.
C-PACE helps property owners fund energy efficiency, renewable energy and water conservation projects using private dollars. The long-term, fixed-rate financing can be applied before, during or after construction for a variety of projects.
While the region’s big four counties of Collin, Dallas, Denton and Tarrant each have their own C-PACE programs, as do cities like Dallas and Fort Worth, the Council of Governments was tasked with expanding the financing program thanks to a grant it received from the State Energy Conservation Office, NCTCOG Environment & Development Director Susan Alvarez said.
“It provides extremely low-cost loans for both energy and water conservation, both of which I think most businesses, most entities, would relish,” Alvarez said of the financing program. “The cost of power is going up, and increasingly we’re more aware of the need for more water conservation, so this provides the financial mechanism to make that happen.”
As part of the rollout, Alvarez said the Council of Governments will develop standard contracts for its administrators to use. She expects counties and municipalities will be able to opt into the program through a simple interlocal agreement with the agency.
“We’re a … pretty good sized area, so with the anticipated market for these services, we felt like it was beneficial to have two vendors under contract to be able to offer these services,” Alvarez said.
Alvarez cited the track records of the two groups chosen to administer the program, which each expressed excitement at getting to work with the regional organization.
“When a Council of Government steps in and says, ‘We’ll oversee it,’ … it adds trust and credibility and, most importantly, uniformity to the program,” Texas PACE Authority President Charlene Heydinger said.
The added reach of the Council of Governments should benefit both administrator organizations since Lone Star PACE President Lee McCormick said the biggest hurdle it faces is educating people that the financing is available and explaining how it works.
“Partnering with the North Central Texas COG is going to really help accelerate the outreach and adoption of PACE in some of the regions that don’t currently have it,” McCormick said.
While all the details are still being ironed out, Alvarez said she envisions a program similar to the one set up by the Alamo Area Council of Governments in the San Antonio metro, and she has picked their brains for inspiration.
Texas PACE Authority also works with that group, and Heydinger said the new North Texas program will be a great new tool for the local agency.
“NCTCOG does a lot with clean air, water resources, energy efficiency, so this program is a great fit for the regional goals that a lot of the staff work on,” Heydinger said.
Cities and counties that already have C-PACE programs will have some flexibility in how they proceed once the new program is up and running.
“If they have a program, they can either keep it or they can opt into the COG’s program, whichever they prefer,” McCormick said. “So it really gives them some options either way.”
The Trump administration has dismantled much of the so-called “Green New Deal,” deprioritizing clean energy and sustainable building programs like the Green and Resilient Retrofit Fund. But 40 statewide C-PACE programs are going strong, offering another option for sustainable building upgrades outside the reach of the federal government.
Alvarez said she anticipates working with the Council of Governments’ economic development staff to help spread the word about the program. She hopes to get things up and running soon as the agency has already received calls asking about the financing option.
“I would really like to get it fully in place before the end of our state grant, which is the end of August,” Alvarez said. “In agency time, that’s pretty quick.”
