Webinar explains Pennsylvania's CPACE program, eligibility, and how projects are financed
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Summary
Sustainable Energy Fund and the Philadelphia Energy Authority outlined how CPACE (commercial property assessed clean energy) finances energy, resiliency and indoor-air upgrades, reviewed case studies in Pennsylvania, and answered questions on minimums, timelines and eligible measures such as green stormwater infrastructure.
Elaine Ivasovich Lozada, a representative of the Sustainable Energy Fund, opened a virtual briefing by defining CPACE as "commercial property assessed clean energy," a state-enabled financing tool that lets commercial property owners access long-term funding for energy efficiency, renewable energy, water conservation, indoor-air-quality and resiliency projects.
The webinar explained the statutory framework in Pennsylvania: Gov. Tom Wolf signed Senate Bill 234, creating Act 30 of 2018, which enables counties or municipalities to establish CPACE districts and requires a local enabling ordinance because the program uses the property tax process. A 2022 expansion added indoor-air-quality measures, resiliency projects and multifamily housing (five or more units) to eligible measures, Elaine said.
"CPACE can cover 100% of eligible hard and soft costs," Elaine said, noting that eligible costs can include roof repairs needed to support rooftop solar as well as engineering and design expenses. Repayments are collected through an annual CPACE assessment billed alongside property taxes; the obligation attaches to the property, not the owner.
Lisa Shulock of the Philadelphia Energy Authority emphasized that SEF and PEA are program administrators rather than lenders. "We do not provide the capital," she said, explaining there are more than 40 registered CPACE capital providers in Pennsylvania and a smaller group of active lenders who do the majority of projects. Shulock said Philadelphia will accept projects as small as $100,000, though most projects have been much larger in recent years.
Presenters reviewed recent Pennsylvania projects to show how CPACE has been used. Elaine said Pennsylvania has closed 37 projects totaling about $474.5 million in CPACE financing to date; SEF has closed 14 projects (about $75 million) and the Philadelphia Energy Authority has closed 23 projects (just under $400 million). Case studies included a Pittsburgh distillery with roughly $5 million in CPACE-eligible financing that yields about $21,000 in annual energy savings and an estimated reduction of 200 metric tons of CO2e per year; a Home2Suites near State College that used about $1.9 million at a 7.93% interest rate; and adaptive-reuse projects in Philadelphia (including nearly $11 million for an outpatient conversion and two projects at the Navy Yard totaling about $32 million).
On eligibility and program rules, presenters said: - Remediation work (environmental cleanup) is generally not eligible for CPACE, while green stormwater infrastructure is eligible under the resiliency category added by statute. - Publicly owned property (for example, public schools) is not eligible; private schools and most commercial and agricultural properties are eligible, as are multifamily buildings with five or more units when owned as a single tax parcel. - Minimum project size depends on the capital provider; many providers commonly set thresholds around $1 million, but several will consider deals down to $100,000. - There is no statutory upper limit to project size; presenters cited recent projects of $87 million in Philadelphia and a $475 million project elsewhere as examples.
Audience members asked about timing and process. Lisa said a pre-application screening for basic eligibility speeds the process; projects that are shovel-ready and submit complete deliverables can close in about six weeks, though more complex financing stacks can take several months. Elaine noted some counties add steps (redevelopment authority or commissioners'approval) that can add two to three weeks.
Several attendees raised practical concerns: one participant described how value engineering can strip out high-performance design features, and presenters urged integrated design and the use of complementary grants or tax credits. Presenters also encouraged municipalities without CPACE to contact SEF for "CPACE in a box" templates (enabling resolutions, statements of levy and lien, program guidelines) to guide local enabling actions.
The session closed with presenters offering contact information for follow-up and the host announcing a future webinar on Pennsylvania's climate action plan. Presenters urged interested property owners and local officials to reach out to program administrators or prospective capital providers to explore whether CPACE could finance specific upgrades.
