Massachusetts may join the rising number of
governmental jurisdictions offering a popular way to finance solar photovoltaic
installations: with loans repaid through tax assessments. In addition to solar PV systems, solar water-heating equipment
and other energy-efficiency measures are often eligible for funding.
Massachusetts may join the rising number of
governmental jurisdictions offering a popular way to finance solar photovoltaic
installations: with loans repaid through tax assessments, according toSunpluggers.com. In addition to solar PV systems, solar water-heating equipment
and other energy-efficiency measures are often eligible for funding.
A
bill that may soon be taken up by the state legislature would allow cities and
towns to loan funds to property owners for solar arrays and collect payments on
property-tax bills. The municipality would hold a lien on the property. Such
programs are designed to entail little or no long-term cost to the government
that sponsors them.
A
California law enacted in 2008 first established this mechanism for funding
solar, which has a high initial cost if purchased outright because decades of
electricity production are bought in advance.
Various
versions of the program - often called Property Assessed Clean Energy, or PACE
funding - have since spread to Colorado, Illinois, Louisiana, Maryland, Nevada,
New Mexico, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, Texas, Vermont, Virginia, and Wisconsin,
according to the grouppacenow.org. Legislation is also pending in Arizona and
New York state. Florida and Hawaii are believed to have the authority to
institute PACE programs without changes to state law.
To
learn more, read the full storyhere.
