HERO Now Available to Over 150,000 More California Homes

SAN DIEGO, Oct. 26, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Owners of over 150,000 additional homes across California now have access to an innovative energy and efficiency financing option known as HERO. The nation's leading Property Assessed Clean Energy (PACE) financing platform, HERO empowers property owners to make residential energy, efficiency and water conservation improvements and pay for them over time through an additional, voluntary line item on their property taxes. HERO is now available to homeowners in unincorporated areas of Tulare, Mendocino, Siskiyou, Amador and Glenn Counties and in the cities of Santa Rosa, Cupertino, Marysville and Shasta Lake.

This development follows Governor Jerry Brown's recent signing of two new laws that establish a landmark regulatory and consumer-protection framework for PACE financing. The companion pieces of legislation – AB 1284 and SB 242 – are the result of a year of negotiations among consumer advocates, environmental and clean-energy groups, the banking industry, Renovate America and other private-sector PACE program administrators aimed at improving PACE by strengthening consumer protections.

"HERO communities take an active role in empowering homeowners, supporting local businesses and combatting climate change, and we are thrilled to make this option available to over 150,000 additional households across the state," said Blair McNeill, Vice President of Market Development at Renovate America, the company that administers HERO. "The new measures out of Sacramento ensure PACE can continue to responsibly protect homeowners and build upon its strong record of making energy-saving and efficiency improvements a reality for even more Californians."

Since its inception, HERO has financed more than $2.6 billion in energy-saving home improvements to more than 105,000 California homeowners. Eligible HERO improvements include energy-efficient HVAC systems, roofing and window replacements, as well as rooftop solar. These improvements are on track to save California homeowners billions of dollars on their energy bills and reduce emissions by more than 4.3 million tons – equivalent to taking over 910,000 cars off the road for a year.

With the addition of the new cities and counties, HERO is now available to more than 8.6 million California homes.

HERO's latest expansion is expected to boost economic activity in the new communities in which it will operate, as it has in its active municipalities across the state. It is estimated that HERO-financed improvement activity has resulted in the creation of nearly 23,000 new jobs and over $4.5 billion in economic impact.

Local contractors interested in learning more about HERO and/or becoming a registered HERO provider should visit www.renovateamerica.com/contractors.

California homeowners who want to see if HERO is right for their home should visit www.renovateamerica.com/financing/hero/communities.

About Renovate America
Renovate America offers a tech-enabled financing platform for home improvements that empowers communities to modernize and make their housing stock more efficient, while giving small businesses the tools they need to grow. In addition to financing home improvements through an unsecured lending product, Benji, Renovate America offers communities HERO financing. HERO is the leading residential Property Assessed Clean Energy (PACE) program in the U.S. and has been used by over 105,000 homes to make energy and efficiency improvements. It is estimated that HERO is on track to save billions of dollars in energy and water bills, and has created over 23,000 local trade jobs that cannot be offshored or automated. Renovate America has built the world's largest green bond platform, with a volume of originations that enables securitization of HERO PACE bonds multiple times a year, attracting international investment to meet U.S. clean-energy objectives.

SOURCE Renovate America

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