Santa Rosa’s Ygrene to expand clean energy financing program

Santa Rosa’s Ygrene Energy Fund is seeking to expand its clean energy financing program statewide, including in Sonoma County.

The company announced Wednesday it is partnering in a statewide effort with the Golden State Finance Authority, a joint powers agency formed by 33 rural counties. Together the two entities hope to offer property owners throughout California special financing for residential, commercial, industrial and agricultural energy-saving projects.

The Ygrene Works program, similar to a pioneering effort begun in Sonoma County, provides no-money down loans for solar energy installations, window replacement and other projects that can cut energy or water bills. The money is paid back over time via property tax bills.

“It’s the most cost-effective and efficient way for delivering capital to these property owners,” said Ygrene vice president Mike Lemyre.

The company “absolutely” wants to offer its financing in Sonoma County, Lemyre said. That would give county residents more choice for obtaining the money needed for clean energy projects.

The financing program is typically known as PACE, or Property Assessed Clean Energy. In 2009, Sonoma became the first county in the nation to create a PACE program and since has funded more than $68 million in clean energy upgrades.

Ygrene launched its first PACE program two years ago in Sacramento. It now operates in 70 cities in Florida and California, and soon hopes to provide financing in Georgia. In the Golden State, it offers financing for 40 cities in six counties, Lemyre said. Overall, it has approved more than $140 million in loans since its inception, Lemyre said.

Its expansion efforts come as Sonoma County officials have built partnerships with two outside PACE financing programs, CaliforniaFirst,which operates in 167 cities, and Home Energy Renovation Opportunity, or HERO, which operates in 202 communities statewide. County officials last fall portrayed the partnerships as a way to bring in more financing for local clean energy projects.

The rollout of the financing programs has been hampered by a 2010 decision by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, which told lenders they no longer would purchase home loans for properties with an outstanding PACE loan. The two agencies maintained the PACE liens ?are structured in a way that gives the energy loans priority in repayment over a normal home mortgage, in event of a default.

The Federal Home Finance Agency, conservator for Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, prevailed in lawsuits filed by the county of Sonoma and others seeking to reverse the two agencies’ position. Last month, it restated that buyers of homes with PACE liens “cannot use a Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac loan for the purchase.”

Under the Ygrene Works program, Golden State Finance Authority, formerly California Home Finance Authority, essentially is creating a statewide district for the financing program, streamlining the work for counties that wish to participate, Lemyre said.

Golden State Executive Director Greg Norton said joining the program will help property owners reduce water and energy bills and spur job creation when contractors perform the upgrades.

“It’s a really good fit for us,” he said.

Thirty-one of the 33 member counties already have approved a new joint powers agreement that allows Golden State’s participation, far more than the ?17 needed to enable the authority to offer the program across the state. And Norton is encouraging the elected supervisors of those counties to add Ygrene Works to the PACE programs they already offer.

“I think it’s a great thing that consumers will have a choice,” he said.

Sonoma County Supervisor David Rabbitt said he would be willing to learn more about Ygrene Works and how it might affect both consumers and the current county PACE program.

“Generally speaking, I certainly support having consumer choice across the board,” Rabbitt said.

Supervisor Shirlee Zane said she is supportive of the concept and interested in learning more.

“Competition is good when it comes to clean energy,” Zane said.

Lemyre said Ygrene serves a broader range of property owners than other PACE programs and is the only one to offer repayment terms of up to 30 years. Its current interest rates vary from 5.99 percent for a five-year loan to 7.75 percent for 30 years.

You can reach Staff Writer Robert Digitale at 521-5285 or robert.digitale@pressdemocrat.com. On Twitter @rdigit