Ygrene Continues Missouri Expansion Adding St. Charles County and Show Me PACE Clean Energy District

ST. CHARLES COUNTY, Mo., April 23, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- Ygrene, a national leader in energy efficiency and resiliency financing, announced today that its Property Assessed Clean Energy (PACE) Missouri program now includes St. Charles County. The company's partnership with St. Charles County is coordinated through the Show Me PACE Clean Energy District, a program that encourages local economic development through open-market financing for energy efficiency initiatives and renewable energy projects.

The addition of the new county extends the company's footprint in the state, creating a contiguous jurisdiction with 88 municipalities in St. Louis County and its unincorporated areas, in addition to the City of St. Louis.

"Today's expansion into St. Charles County through the Show Me PACE program provides more Missouri homeowners access to long-term, low-cost financing for energy efficiency and renewable energy upgrades," said Rocco Fabiano, President and CEO of Ygrene Energy Fund. “In a state facing its own share of energy challenges, Ygrene can help residents meet them head-on in a financially secure and safe manner, offering built-in consumer protections that are stronger than almost every other kind of home improvement financing."

The Missouri PACE program is made up of four separate Clean Energy Development Boards, which have completed more than 2,300 residential and commercial clean-energy projects totaling more than $85 million in project funding since 2013. Of that total, 35 commercial PACE projects accounted for an aggregate of $51 million, or 60 percent.

Since it was implemented, the Missouri PACE program has created or retained more than 1,200 good-paying jobs, such as HVAC technicians, carpenters, solar installers and electricians – without any increases in public spending.

"The County Council felt it was important to provide homeowners with financing options for qualified energy efficiency and renewable energy property improvements," said Councilman Mike Elam (District 3). "Providing a good financing program for St. Charles County is a good thing, but ensuring property owners are protected is even more important. This is why the county adopted Show Me PACE and Ygrene – they have the most comprehensive consumer protections and contractor oversight in the state, and we made sure of that." 

"Working in the banking industry, I immediately recognized the benefits of PACE financing by its ability to provide 100% of the upfront project costs to property owners," said Nic Brinker, President of the Show Me PACE Clean Energy District. "We are excited to expand our program to include St. Charles County and Ygrene's first-class residential and commercial PACE offering and look forward to a successful launch." 

PACE makes energy efficiency improvements more accessible, helping homeowners overcome the upfront cost barrier and allowing them to lower their utility bills and reduce their energy consumption. Show Me PACE and Ygrene have also worked together to implement the industry's strongest consumer protections, including:

• Providing property owners with a comprehensive financial disclosure form (called "know before you owe");
• executing a recorded "confirmation of terms" call for every project;
• providing lender notification on 100 percent of approved projects;
• requiring a completion certificate that must be signed by the property owner before any funds are disbursed to their contractor.

PACE's consumer protections, underwriting standards, and overall customer service far exceed that of other financing products in the home improvement market. Alternative forms of home improvement financing, such as credit cards and bank loans, do not include as many built-in consumer protections, and are often associated with higher terms and fees.

About Ygrene

Ygrene's award-winning PACE program, with built-in consumer protections, is delivering greater choice for home and business owners by providing accessible and affordable financing for energy efficiency, resiliency, renewables, water conservation, storm protection and seismic upgrades. Recognized as one of the fastest growing asset classes in the country, PACE has proven to be a successful tool for supporting public policy initiatives, all without the use of public tax dollars or credits. By providing over $1 billion of private capital to more than 550 local communities, Ygrene has created thousands of jobs and invested millions into local economies across the U.S. Learn more at ygrene.com.

About Show Me PACE

Show Me PACE was created in 2015 to combine the mission-driven nature of the Missouri Energy Initiative with the drive of creating a best practices public private PACE partnership that provides open market and transparent services to Missouri communities, capital providers and property owners. In its first three years, Show Me PACE has demonstrated the ability to bring Commercial PACE to Missouri, facilitating more than $21 million in Commercial PACE financing including the largest agriculture project in the U.S. and the largest project in Kansas City.

SOURCE Ygrene