Texas PACE Program

Lower Operating Costs for Commercial, Industrial, Agricultural, Nonprofit and Multi-Family Properties in Boerne

The Texas Property Assessed Clean Energy (TX-PACE) program saves Texas companies and property owners money on their utility bills by facilitating the use of private capital to finance water conservation, energy efficiency, resiliency, and distributed generation projects. The program is available to commercial, industrial, agricultural, nonprofit, and multifamily properties (5 or more units).

TX-PACE incentivizes Texas property owners to upgrade facility infrastructure with little or no capital outlay. The program enables owners to lower operating costs and use the savings to pay for eligible projects through private, affordable, long-term financing (typically 10-20 years) not available through traditional funding avenues. Since the assessment is tied to the property and transfers upon sale, TX-PACE makes it easier for owners to invest in facility upgrades and modernization, with little or no upfront capital.

TX-PACE is approved by the state legislature and was established in the City of Boerne in March 2020 by City Council, making the program available to business owners.

Resources

  1. How It Works
  2. Project Examples

How It Works

Owners choose a private sector capital provider and voluntarily request that the local government place a senior lien on the property for the total cost of the project. The owner commits to the local government that he/she will pay the TX-PACE assessment installments.

TX-PACE is not a personal or business loan. It is a voluntary land-secured assessment that is paid off over time. The energy and/or water savings are structured to exceed the cost of the assessment, resulting in projects that are cash flow positive. As the assessment is tied to the property, the repayment obligation transfers to the next owner if the property is sold.