The Willits city council voted 4 to 1 to allow city residents to take part in Mendocino County’s Property Assessed Clean Energy program. The PACE program will now allow Willits businesses to borrow money for renewable energy and energy efficiency equipment and pay it back through twice annual property tax payments. Photo of solar panels at the Willits water plant installed in 2008. (The Willits News)
The Willits city council voted 4 to 1 to allow city residents to take part in Mendocino County’s Property Assessed Clean Energy program. The PACE program creates a special tax district which allows property owners to use the equity in their homes to purchase energy improvements and repay the borrowed money with their property tax bill.
The county has hired Ygrene Energy Fund to administer the fund. The procedure to allow property owners to sign up is still being developed. Councilman Bruce Burton dissented.
The program allows property owners to use up to 10 percent of the property’s equity to fund energy or water efficiency projects such as solar panels, energy efficient furnaces, hot water heaters or gray water systems. The program administer is required by the terms of the agreement to insure the energy or other cost savings from the projects will return enough money to completely repay the loan. Read more.