By Jessica Lillian | Solar Industry
Will the U.S. residential solar market ever see a powerful program return to its project finance toolbox?
Residential property assessed clean energy (PACE) finance, which allows property owners to pay for solar installations and other energy efficiency improvements through their property tax bills, has been essentially sidelined by mortgage-related legal complications for the past few years. Unfortunately, the most recent court decision failed to raise the hopes of PACE supporters.
Last week, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals in California dismissed a case filed by Sonoma County, the State of California and other parties to challenge the legality of action taken by the Federal Housing Finance Authority (FHFA) to curtail PACE back in July 2010.
“We … conclude that FHFA’s decision to cease purchasing mortgages on PACE-encumbered properties is a lawful exercise of its statutory authority as conservator of the enterprises,” the court wrote in its ruling.
“There are three other appellate courts that have ruled similarly,” says Adam Browning, executive director of the solar advocacy organization Vote Solar. “There is a line of thinking that this ruling was not unexpected.”
If you’d like to discuss energy issues, contact Court Rich, Co-Chair of Rose Law Group’s Renewable Energy Department at crich@roselawgroup.com
