C-PACE commercial property finance

• Your property must be in a participating Connecticut municipality. Commercial and industrial buildings and multifamily buildings with at least five units can qualify; mixed-use, nonprofit and agricultural properties may also qualify. State, municipal and other political-subdivision ownership is excluded. The property must have a property tax identification number; a municipality can issue one for collection purposes even if the owner is exempt from property tax. Residential dwellings with four units or fewer are excluded, but the definition does not include hotels and similar lodgings, incidental residences within institutions providing medical, geriatric, educational, counselling, religious or similar services, or structures primarily used for business, charitable, nonprofit or agricultural purposes.
• A mortgage or equivalent security interest for a loan primarily used for personal, family or household purposes in a dwelling of four units or fewer, or land intended for such a dwelling, makes the property ineligible. Every existing mortgage holder must receive written notice at least 30 days before the assessment lien is recorded and give written consent. If the mortgage holder is the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), the consent and financing agreements must give it notice and a reasonable opportunity to remedy missed assessment payments. All benefited owners must sign the risk disclosure, and every project needs written Green Bank approval.
• Energy-efficiency and renewable-energy retrofit projects must have a savings-to-investment ratio (SIR) greater than one: projected lifetime savings must exceed the investment including financing costs. A qualified contractor conducts the energy audit; renewable-energy projects need a feasibility study. The approved technical review checks the projections. Charging infrastructure is exempt from the SIR test but still needs an audit identifying equipment, electricity supply, useful life, costs and incentives. For energy-efficiency retrofits, appliances such as refrigerators and dishwashers, plug-in devices, vending-machine controls and equipment that is easily removed or not permanently installed are excluded. All projects need a commissioning plan to verify correct installation and operation.
• Resilience work is also exempt from the SIR test. A resilience study must identify the property’s vulnerabilities, proposed adaptation, expected cost savings and implementation timeline. There is no minimum dollar-saving threshold.
• For energy-related new construction, change of use or gut rehabilitation, one route uses a whole-building energy model. The model compares the design with a building meeting the energy code applicable when permits are obtained. Against a 2021 International Energy Conservation Code (IECC) baseline, performance at least 5% above code allows financing of 20% of total eligible construction cost; at least 10% above code allows 25%. Against IECC 2018 or earlier, the corresponding improvement thresholds are 10% and 20%. The Green Bank and technical administrator determine the eligible cost base. Land purchase, marketing, plug-in equipment, furnishings, decorations and items not fixed to the property are excluded from that base.
• Equipment can be owned by a third party under a lease or a power purchase agreement, in which you buy the energy the equipment produces, with the property owner’s consent and all other programme requirements. The agreement must last at least 15 years, transfer to a buyer when the property changes hands, and give the property owner a right or option to acquire the equipment at the end. The owner makes fixed assessment payments; performance-based agreements must regularly adjust payments to reflect actual output. Under a power purchase agreement, if the total cost of energy actually produced at the agreement’s price exceeds the fixed assessment payment, you pay the provider the difference; if it is lower, the provider pays you the difference. Technical approval and the applicable SIR test still apply.
• For solar PV, the inverter must be warranted for the full financing term. The commissioning plan checks installation, utility connection and performance, with production tracking covered by the measurement plan. If renewable-energy-credit income is needed to pass the SIR test, evidence of the credit contract is required before financing closes. Federal tax-credit or depreciation savings count only where the owner can use them.
• Already-completed improvements may qualify if completed less than one calendar year before the complete approval-document submission.

Status

Laufende Antragstellung

Beschränkungen dieser Antragsrunde

• Submit an initial project application to Connecticut Green Bank; property, technical and financial approval is required before financing.

Submit an initial application to Connecticut Green Bank through the C-PACE financing application page once you have a project in mind. The Green Bank reviews it and contacts you with next steps. You can also arrange financing through an approved C-PACE capital provider.

For direct Green Bank financing, provide the requested property and business financial information, contractor project documentation, governance documents, insurance evidence and any lender consent. After approval, review and sign the financing agreement. The Green Bank records the assessment and agrees a construction-milestone disbursement schedule with the contractor. Request funds as milestones are met; construction interest accrues at the agreement’s rate. After the completion site visit, remaining funds are released and the final repayment schedule and term interest rate apply.

If a third-party capital provider submits your complete project documents, the Green Bank normally cannot finance that same project for six months. This restriction does not apply to a materially different qualifying project or when the capital provider fails to submit the necessary documents within a commercially reasonable time.