SOUTHFIELD — The Michigan Energy Office announced the opening of registration for the first round of Lean & Green Michigan – Property Assessed Clean Energy (PACE) contractor training this fall.
Levin Energy Partners, the Southeast Michigan Regional Energy Office and the Ecology Center have designed these training to help electrical, mechanical and plumbing contractors, solar installers, energy auditors, architects, energy service companies and other interested parties make the most of Michigan’s rapidly growing PACE market.
Training will be held at six locations around the state: Warren (Oct.9), Lansing (Oct. 16), Detroit (Oct. 21), Traverse City (Oct. 23), Saginaw (Oct. 28) and Ann Arbor (Oct. 30).
Seven counties representing 38 percent of our state’s population have established PACE districts with a dozen more jurisdictions in the process.
Attendees will receive a light breakfast, a comprehensive manual (electronic and paper), and marketing materials to incorporate PACE financing in project proposals.
The cost of the training is $150 for those registering in advance and $180 at the door. Once a company has gone through the training and completed the new joint Lean & Green-Michigan Saves registration, the company will be listed on a new contractor website where property owners can find trained providers.
Most contractors have little to offer commercial clients looking to make energy efficiency improvements that may take as long as 10 to 15 years to pay for themselves. PACE fills this gap, providing 100 percent financing and immediate positive cash flow. PACE offers contractors and service companies a chance to expand their businesses and close more and bigger deals. Lean & Green Michigan welcomes all commercial architects, designers and contractors involved with energy efficiency or renewable energy projects estimated at $200,000 or more on commercial, industrial, multifamily and private, non-profit buildings ranging from simple lighting replacements to comprehensive retrofits to participate.
To learn more or to register, visit www.leanandgreenmi.com or send an email to info@levinenergypartners.com.
The schedule is as follows:
* Oct. 9 — 8 a.m. at the IBEW-NECA Training Center, 2277 E. 11 Mile Road, Warren
* Oct. 16 — 8 a.m. at the Lansing Community College West Campus M-TEC, 5708 Cornerstone Drive, Lansing
* Oct. 21 — 8 a.m. at NextEnergy, 461 Burroughs, Detroit
* Oct. 23 — 8 a.m. at Northwestern Michigan College, Room TBA, Traverse City
* Oct. 28 — 8 a.m. at a location TBA for those in Saginaw and Huron counties
* Oct. 30 — 8 a.m. at Washtenaw Community College, 4800 E. Huron River Drive, Ann Arbor
Under Michigan’s PACE law, counties, cities and townships can set up PACE districts that allow a property owner to use the property tax mechanism to finance energy improvements. The property owner voluntarily takes on a special assessment, which it pays off as part of its property tax bill. Since the PACE loan is a special assessment obligation, it is senior to any mortgage – and hence very secure for the lender. (Because of this, if the property owner has a preexisting mortgage, he or she must get the mortgage holder’s consent.) Up to 100 percent of a project’s cost can be covered under a PACE special assessment. Also, the PACE special assessment “runs with the land” — the owner can sell the property and the new owner simply picks up the payments (and energy savings), just as it begins to pay property tax. Because of these features, PACE special assessments can be amortized for 10 or 20 years or longer (up to the useful life of the improvements or equipment involved) – many times longer than a traditional bank loan. Projects may also garner slightly more favorable interest rates.