Guam roundtable pushes renewable-energy financing to lower costs for affordable housing

Chair Santa Massey, chair of the Committee on Municipal Affairs, Tourism and Housing, convened a March 5 roundtable on affordable housing and renewable energy and heard from government housing officials, renewable-energy trade groups and local developers about financing and policy tools to lower household energy costs.

The meeting focused on pairing solar and energy-efficiency measures with affordable-housing construction and ownership through targeted financing. Martin Beneventi, president of Guam Housing Corporation and chairman of the Affordable Housing Coordinating Council, told the committee that power and water bills are contributing to foreclosure and program dropouts: "They were given for almost free. They called it the dollar home... after not being able to pay for their power and water... they lost the houses," he said, urging the group to pursue renewable-energy solutions.

The Guam Renewable Energy Association (GRIA) outlined a suite of finance options and technical measures it says could reduce operating costs for new and existing low-income homes. "We are a trade association... we're a 501(c)(6), and our goals are basically to reduce Guam's carbon footprint, as well as helping the community lower their overall energy costs," said Jeff Fekola, president of GRIA. Fekola and other presenters recommended property-assessed clean energy (PACE) financing, energy-efficiency mortgages, community (virtual) solar and straightforward efficiency measures such as LED lighting and water heating.

GRIA said PACE would let property owners borrow for energy upgrades and repay the debt through a property tax assessment or a utility bill; Fekola summarized the program as "no upfront cost at all to the homeowner" and transferable to a new owner if the property is sold. GRIA also pointed to a recent local law enabling power purchase agreements for Department of Education buildings — a change GRIA estimates will save about $4 million for schools — as an example of legislation that can unlock savings.

Guam Housing and Urban Renewal Authority (GHURA) Executive Director Michael Duenas described the scale of the problem for public-housing participants: "The cost of energy is something that we're very concerned with at GHURA. We provide utility reimbursements to about 300 of our public housing families and over a 1,000 of our Section 8 families," he said, adding that disconnection of power and water is a frequent cause of program termination.

Speakers walked through an affordability example used by GRIA: adding roughly $20,000 of energy improvements to a typical mortgage could reduce a household's monthly energy bill enough that net monthly costs fall and homeowners gain disposable income. GRIA also provided a ballpark installed-system cost for a small two-bedroom home of about $14,000–$17,000, but emphasized final costs depend on economies of scale and project scope.

HUD- and grant-related options were discussed as complementary tools. A GHURA official noted that HUD has incentives and capital tools that can fund efficiency measures, including Section 108 loans and Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) programs, but cautioned these are loans and can pose administrative hurdles: "We discussed the possibility of using that Section 108 loan with the Fisherman's Coop. Unfortunately, there were just too many hoops for them to jump through," the official said.

Participants urged passing local enabling policy and funding to scale projects. Martin Beneventi and others repeatedly called for a funded housing trust to underwrite rebates, grants or loans for energy retrofits in affordable housing. Beneventi pointed to an existing local revenue source that currently produces only about $27,000 a year and said that redirecting or increasing similar revenue could seed a trust fund to make installations feasible for low-income homeowners.

The roundtable also touched on workforce and quality-control concerns for a growing local renewable sector. GRIA and Micronesia Renewable Energy representatives warned of poor installations in the region and urged local training, standards and maintenance capacity so systems remain operational long term.

Chair Santa Massey closed the session by saying the Affordable Housing Coordinating Council and stakeholders will continue to develop legislation and administrative steps to pursue PACE, trust-fund financing and other measures; no formal votes or ordinances were taken at the roundtable.