2011 Vermont Property Assessed Clean Energy (PACE)

Property Assessed Clean Energy (PACE) was initially enacted in Vermont by the Vermont Energy Act of 2009. PACE is a voluntary program administered through Vermont cities and towns. This program eases the financial burden for property owners who wish to make energy efficiency improvements or add small scale renewable energy, typically solar or wind. The owner, rather than paying for these costs upfront, has an assessment added to their property tax bill. The assessment is funded through municipally offered bonds with all costs related to these bonds paid back by participating property owners over a twenty year period. A more in depth overview of this legislation is provided on the VEIC website.

During the past session, the legislature in the Vermont Energy Act of 2011 or H.56 approved a few key changes to strengthen PACE. First, additional financial protection is provided to municipalities and their taxpayers. Cities and towns are given greater guarantees to collect money from properties in foreclosure. It also mandates that the cities and towns create a reserve fund to pay for any past due balances. This reserve fund is to be funded solely by participating property owners. The second key change is that only dwellings will be eligible for funding through PACE. Finally, it eliminates any penalties for the prepayment of the outstanding balance of participating property owners. The entire text of the legislation is available on the Vermont State Legislature website and the PACE section begins on page 100.