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8 Hartford Business Journal • October 28, 2019 • www.HartfordBusiness.com By Matt Pilon mpilon@hartfordbusiness.com C onnecticut has long been a standout for its unique energy-efficien- cy financing program targeted at commercial and industrial properties, but it has been losing ground of late. Other states have been ramp- ing up so-called Property Assessed Clean Energy (PACE) financing, which allows property owners to finance solar panels and efficiency improvements through low-inter- est loans whose repayments are rolled into local property-tax bills. While Con- necticut's program — C-PACE — remains the largest in the country on a per-capita basis, others around the U.S. have been growing sev- eral times faster in recent years, threatening to challenge the state's long-dominant position. "There is a national ramping- up that is going on," said Mackey Dykes, vice president of commer- cial and industrial programs at the Connecticut Green Bank, the quasi- government agency that oversees the state's C-PACE program. "We want to remain a leader." To do that, the Green Bank is plot- ting a growth strategy that includes pursuing more deals in underrep- resented sectors, like non-owner- occupied buildings, and better marketing the program to property holders who are unfamiliar with it. It's also recruited a high-profile new customer — Norwalk-based Spinnaker Real Estate Partners, which is active in several Hartford projects — to help sell the program. Still, growth challenges remain. Some property owners and lenders remain wary that green invest- ments will show a return. "I talk to a lot of building owners and some of them just don't trust it," Dykes said. That's despite the fact that the Green Bank says its careful deal analysis ensures the investment will net out positively, in addition to benefiting the environment. C-PACE enables property owners to take out a low-interest loan to make various energy and efficiency improvements. Repayments are made through voluntary assess- ments on property-tax bills. That structure gives the loan an enviable first lien position in the event of a default, lowering financing risk and, therefore, the interest rate. A small state by population and Keeping Pace As green financing booms across the U.S., CT could lose its edge Spinnaker Real Estate Partners' SoNo Ice House in Norwalk added rooftop solar arrays using financing from Connecticut Green Bank's C-PACE program. PHOTO | CONTRIBUTED SHOWCASE TRANSPORTATION NOVEMBER 7TH SHOWCASE NOVEMBER 7TH TRANSPORTATION HOW TRANSPORTATION IMPACTS CONNECTICUT'S ECONOMY TODAY & TOMORROW Join us as we engage with the business community in a lively conversation showcasing the connection points between transportation demand management (TDM) activities and economic and business growth in the state. The Jackson Laboratory for Genomic Medicine, Farmington, Connecticut REGISTRATION NOW OPEN: bit.ly/transportationshowcase2019 Featured Speakers: The Honorable Ned Lamont, Governor of Connecticut The Honorable Erin Stewart, Mayor, City of New Britain Commissioner Joseph Giulietti, Connecticut Department of Transportation Mark Ojakian, President of the Connecticut State Colleges & Universities LuAnn Ballesteros, Vice President, External and Government Aff airs, Jackson Labs Dr. Stephen M. Coan, President & CEO, Mystic Aquarium Moderator: Dennis House Co-Anchor of Eyewitness News at 5 and 6, Moderator Face the State PRESENTED BY: MEDIA PARTNERS: EVENT PARTNER: MEDIA PARTNERS: EVENT PARTNER: A Service of the Connecticut Department of Transportation 8-10:30 AM $45 PP NOVEMBER 7 TH