Arkansas has passed a PACE enabling bill, which Governor Mike Beebe signed it into law in April. This is exciting news for PACE fans as Arkansas is now one of 30 states that can use PACE financing. PACENow was pleased to provide support for this effort, but the bill’s passage is really the result of the hard work of a number of energy efficiency advocates on the ground in Arkansas. We would like to share the following summary of the legislative efforts in Arkansas from Steve Patterson, Executive Director of the Arkansas Advanced Energy Association.
With Arkansas Governor Mike Beebe’s signature on Monday, April 15, 2013, Senate Bill 640, the Property Assessed Clean Energy Act, became law to enable local option clean energy financing in the Natural State for the first time. The new law authorizes government entities to voluntarily form energy improvement districts with the power to issue tax-exempt bonds to fund low-interest, long-term loans to interested property owners for energy efficiency improvements, water conservation improvements and renewable energy projects.
Interested property owners who own businesses or reside in an energy improvement district can finance projects for up to 20 years. Because energy savings exceed the loan payments which are assessed annually on the property owner’s property tax bill, PACE improvements not only make a business owner’s building more energy efficient, they also help increase the company’s cash flow.