Ohio Will Become 4th State to Offer Residential PACE for Energy Improvements

John Caleb Bell
Bricker & Eckler

Homeowners in Summit, Franklin and Lucas Counties will soon have access to low-interest loans for energy efficiency improvements through property assessed clean energy (PACE) financing. In Summit County, the City of Barberton will begin offering residential PACE (or RPACE) to homeowners. In Franklin and Lucas Counties, the cities of Bexley and Toledo have authorized agreements with the Toledo-Lucas County Port Authority to offer RPACE to their residents.

RPACE loans will be available to homeowners for energy efficiency upgrades to HVAC, windows and doors, roofing, insulation and other improvements. Property owners can finance projects through the 5- to 20-year loans, which are repaid through a voluntary assessment on their property tax bill.

RPACE is expected to roll out statewide by the end of 2019. Ohio will become the fourth state to offer RPACE programs, according to Chris Burnham, president of the Development Finance Authority of Summit County (DFA). The U.S. Department of Energy reports that, as of 2019, more than 200,000 homeowners have made $5 billion in energy efficiency and other improvements through RPACE financing in the three other states offering RPACE programs: California, Missouri and Florida.

Commercial PACE financing has already been available to businesses, government entities, and nonprofits in more than 20 of Ohio’s counties. In 2018, the state of Ohio saw 31 commercial PACE transactions, representing $79.1 million in energy-efficiency investments.