EY Recognizes Renovate America's Co-founders, J.P. McNeill And Nick Fergis, With 2016 Entrepreneur Of The Year® Award In San Diego

SAN DIEGO, June 28, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- The co-founders of Renovate America, the leading U.S. provider of residential Property Assessed Clean Energy (PACE) financing, have won the EY Entrepreneur Of The Year® 2016 Award in the financial services category in San Diego.

An independent panel of judges selected Renovate America Chief Executive Officer J.P. McNeill and Chief Operating Officer Nick Fergis for the award, which recognizes outstanding entrepreneurs who demonstrate excellence and extraordinary success in such areas as innovation, financial performance, and personal commitment to their businesses and communities. McNeill and Fergis formally received the honor at a gala event at the Fairmont Grand Del Mar on June 20, 2016.

"Renovate America was created with a vision to help homeowners invest in their homes to save energy and water. We are fortunate to partner with cities and counties to provide affordable financing for improvements which promote energy and water conservation goals, spur economic growth ,and upgrade our nation's residential infrastructure," said McNeill. "Winning this award is a great honor, recognizing the innovation and entrepreneurship of the 650 people at Renovate America who work every day to make this vision a reality."

Renovate America is the provider of the HERO Program, Property Assessed Clean Energy (PACE) financing that enables homeowners to make energy- and water-efficiency improvements or install solar panels and pay for the upgrades over time through their property tax bills. HERO has helped fund residential efficiency projects in 66,400 households in California, totaling more than $1.5 billion in financing. By stimulating home renovation activity, the HERO Program increases demand for local contractor services. HERO is estimated to have spurred the creation of more than 13,300 jobs in California since beginning in December 2011. Cities and counties benefit through economic stimulus and local job growth while helping their communities reach government water and energy savings goals.

Each year, millions of U.S. homeowners will replace systems in their homes that affect energy or water consumption – such as Heating Ventilation Air Conditioning (HVAC), windows, roofs, and water heaters – in most cases because existing products are failing. Unfortunately, the majority of homeowners still select the least-efficient solution because homeowners are not sure how long they are going to stay in their home. These solutions end up being the most expensive when taking into account the total cost of ownership when energy or water costs are factored in. The HERO Program provides crucial options to homeowners to choose more efficient improvements: HERO finances 100 percent of the home improvement, requiring no cash payment upfront; the term of the financing is based on the useful life of the product, and all of the installed products have been certified to meet state or federal efficiency standards.

"We wanted to build a business that not only provided a solution to a marketplace failure, but also created clean energy jobs, helped grow small businesses and positively impacted the environment," said Nick Fergis. "We recognized from day one that we could only reach these goals with an amazing team, so we work to be a good employer as well."

In addition to administering the program, Renovate America has developed custom software with automated underwriting and product approvals, trained a network of 8,000 registered contractors, created industry-leading consumer protections and real-time economic and environmental impact reporting. The HERO Program is made possible through a public-private partnership between Renovate America and 425 cities and counties and is available to 87% of California households.

Since 1986, EY has honored entrepreneurs whose ingenuity, spirit of innovation and discipline have propelled their companies' success, invigorated their industries, and benefited their communities. Now in its 30^th year, the program has honored the inspirational leadership of such entrepreneurs as Howard Schultz of Starbucks Coffee Company, Robert Unanue of Goya Foods, and Mindy Grossman of HSN. Recent US national winners include Reid Hoffman and Jeff Weiner of LinkedIn; Hamdi Ulukaya, founder of Chobani; and 2015 winners Andreas Bechtolsheim and Jayshree Ullal of Arista Networks.

As San Diego award winners, J.P. McNeill and Nick Fergis are now eligible for consideration for the Entrepreneur Of The Year 2016 national program. Award winners in several national categories, as well as the Entrepreneur Of The Year National Overall Award winner, will be announced at the Entrepreneur Of The Year National Awards gala in Palm Springs, California, on November 19, 2016. The awards are the culminating event of the Strategic Growth Forum™, the nation's most prestigious gathering of high-growth, market-leading companies. The US Entrepreneur Of The Year Overall Award winner then moves on to compete for the World Entrepreneur Of The Year Award in Monaco, June 2017.

For more information please visit www.HeroProgram.com.

About Renovate America
Renovate America is the leading provider of financing for energy and water efficiency home improvements in the U.S. The company's HERO Program provides local governments with a comprehensive residential PACE financing solution that also includes consumer protection, business automation software, workforce training and ongoing access to private capital. This unique public-private partnership offers consumers access to more than 60 types of products that reduce energy and water consumption, without the need for government funding. The HERO Program has received a number of awards including the U.S. Climate Leadership Certificate for Innovative Partnerships by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, inclusion in the 2016 White House Water Summit, the Governor's Environmental and Economic Leadership Award in California, the Urban Land Institute Best of the Best, and the Southern California Association of Governments President's Award for Excellence. Additional information can be found at www.renovateamerica.com and www.heroprogram.com.

About EY
EY is a global leader in assurance, tax, transaction and advisory services. The insights and quality services we deliver help build trust and confidence in the capital markets and in economies the world over. We develop outstanding leaders who team to deliver on our promises to all of our stakeholders. In so doing, we play a critical role in building a better working world for our people, for our clients and for our communities.

EY refers to the global organization, and may refer to one or more, of the member firms of Ernst & Young Global Limited, each of which is a separate legal entity. Ernst & Young Global Limited, a UK company limited by guarantee, does not provide services to clients. For more information about our organization, please visit ey.com.

About EY Entrepreneur Of The Year®
EY Entrepreneur Of The Year is the world's most prestigious business award for entrepreneurs. The unique award makes a difference through the way it encourages entrepreneurial activity among those with potential and recognizes the contribution of people who inspire others with their vision, leadership and achievement. As the first and only truly global award of its kind, Entrepreneur Of The Year celebrates those who are building and leading successful, growing and dynamic businesses, recognizing them through regional, national and global awards programs in more than 145 cities in more than 60 countries.

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SOURCE Renovate America