The PA Environmental Council Monday wrote to members of the House Local Government Committee supporting House Bill 1722 (Harper-R-Montgomery) to authorize local governments to create energy improvement districts to help fund energy efficiency, renewable energy and water conservation projects by commercial and industrial buildings to reduce their operating costs is pending in the House Local Government Committee (sponsor summary).

The text of the letter follows--

On behalf of the Pennsylvania Environmental Council, I am writing to express our support for House Bill 1722 (P.N. 2416). The proposed legislation will allow local government entities, such as county economic development agencies and municipalities, to unlock clean energy potential in their jurisdictions.

Property assessed clean energy (PACE) financing can be an important tool for increasing energy efficiency, renewable energy, and green infrastructure projects in the commercial sector because it ties both the value and the cost of improvements to the property, rather than the owner.

This removes a significant barrier to energy improvements as the repayment responsibility, as well as the benefits of the improvement, will remain with the new owner if the business must move before receiving its full return on investment.

For well-structured projects, the monthly savings may be equal to the monthly repayment fee.

This financing tool can be especially important to projects that have longer payback periods, which are often the projects that result in longer term savings.

For instance, property owners may choose to replace lighting systems, but maintain inefficient appliances, heating and cooling systems, and poor quality insulation because of the longer return on investment.

Not only does the business owner miss out on the potential savings, but this also reduces the potential for economic growth in the energy efficiency industry.

According to a recent report (Clean Jobs Pennsylvania, presented by Environmental Entrepreneurs and Keystone Energy Efficiency Alliance, September 2017), nearly 70,000 Pennsylvanians are employed in the clean energy sector.

Unlike many industries, this employment number is growing every year. These are jobs in local communities that cannot be outsourced. Further, these jobs are spread across every county in Pennsylvania, urban and rural alike.

Finally, we are pleased to see that the bill also provides for water conservation projects. However, we ask you to consider expanding the definition of “Water Improvement Projects” (page 5, line 11) to also include green infrastructure projects for stormwater management.

As more and more Pennsylvania cities struggle with stormwater management and consider charging fees to property owners based on the amount of impervious surface, PACE financing could be an important tool to allow owners to reduce their future financial liability by investing in green infrastructure improvements.

Establishing this enabling legislation at the state level allows municipalities the option to offer PACE financing if and when stormwater fees are put into place.   

In addition, under Section 4302 “Definitions,” a “Clean Energy Project” is defined as qualifying sources under the state’s Alternative Energy Portfolio Standard. We recommend that this definition be revised to include only Tier I sources, or that the definition specify those sources that result in reductions in carbon emissions.

Finally, we suggest including a requirement that the state create standardized forms which local municipalities could use when establishing their own PACE programs. This standardization would reduce the eliminate a hurdle for municipalities by reducing administrative burden and would be easier for contractors who perform services across jurisdictions.

Because this bill simply allows for the creation of PACE financing programs, rather than mandating it, each local government entity is free to determine what is the right choice for its community.

We commend the sponsors, and hope you will join them to support this important legislation. Thank you for your consideration.

Sincerely,

Lindsay Baxter
Program Manager, Energy and Climate

John Walliser
Senior Vice President, Legal and Government Affairs

Click Here for a copy of the letter.

A companion bill is in the Senate Community, Economic and Recreational Development Committee-- Senate Bill 234 (Blake-D-Lackawanna)-- which is scheduled to consider the bill on October 17.

For more information on programs, initiatives and special events, visit the PA Environmental Council website, visit the PEC Blog, follow PEC on Twitter or Like PEC on Facebook.  Visit PEC’s Audio Room for the latest podcasts.  Click Here to receive regular updates from PEC.

NewsClip:

Legere: Energy Efficiency Loan Bill Gathers Support In Harrisburg

[Posted: Oct. 11, 2017]

10/16/2017