Buncombe County staff brief commissioners on new statewide CPACE program; resolution required for local participation

Jeremiah, a county staff member, updated the Buncombe County Energy & Environment Subcommittee on North Carolina's recently enacted Commercial Property Assessed Clean Energy program, known as CPACE, explaining the county would have to adopt a resolution before commercial properties here could enroll.

The program allows privately owned commercial, industrial and agricultural property owners to finance clean-energy, water-conservation, energy-efficiency and resiliency projects and repay the financing through a property assessment on the tax bill. Jeremiah said the program is state-administered and voluntary for counties and property owners.

County staff told the subcommittee the law places administration responsibilities with a state agency rather than local government—addressing an earlier concern from local governments about the administrative burden. Jeremiah said the program will create a lien on participating properties and that, unlike a typical bank loan, the repayment obligation “follows the property” if ownership changes. He added that mortgage lender consent is required; if a property has an existing mortgage and that mortgage lender will not agree to subordinate or accept the CPACE lien, the owner will not be approved.

Why this matters: CPACE can lengthen repayment terms beyond typical commercial loans and shift repayment obligations to the parcel, which can change the calculus for property owners and prospective buyers. Subcommittee discussion focused on whether the mortgage-consent requirement and the absence of an identified capital provider in the early rollout will limit uptake in Buncombe County.

Details and remaining questions

- State administration and local role: Jeremiah said the statute selects a state administrator (EDPNC, the Economic Development Partnership of North Carolina, was referenced in discussion) to accept applications and largely handle paperwork; the county’s primary role would be recording the assessment on the property and adopting a resolution to opt in. Jeremiah noted a modest reimbursement (staff cited a figure “around $500”) for county administrative work.

- Lender consent and lien priority: County staff explained the law requires mortgage-holder permission for a CPACE lien to be recorded behind an existing mortgage but ahead of other voluntary liens; county staff emphasized that property tax liens continue to have statutory priority. Commissioners and staff discussed how that lender-consent requirement differentiates CPACE from typical special assessments imposed by a local government.

- Capital providers and market readiness: Staff said the state has not identified a capital provider for the program at the time of the briefing; large national banks often provide capital in other states, but no provider was named for North Carolina. Jeremiah said there were no active CPACE projects in the state at the time and cited Wilmington as an example of a jurisdiction that had adopted a resolution but is awaiting the state program’s operational details.

- Local alternatives and redundancy: Staff noted local financing mechanisms already exist for some projects—Mountain BizWorks and local commercial lenders were discussed as alternatives for smaller projects—so CPACE may be most relevant for larger industrial borrowers.

What happened and next steps

No formal vote or resolution was taken at the meeting. Staff recommended a “wait-and-see” approach: the county can adopt a resolution to participate at a later meeting once the state administrator and capital-provider details are clearer. Commissioners said the county has a template resolution ready should the board choose to adopt it in the future.

Ending

County staff said they will report back with updates as the state identifies program administrators and capital providers and as other North Carolina jurisdictions move from adoption to active projects. The subcommittee did not adopt the resolution and took no formal action during the briefing.