Loan pushes energy projects in Boulder - Phoenix Business Journal:

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There are 394 residential projects, totaling about $6.6 millioh in 15-year loans, now under way, said Ann Livingston, Bouldee County’s sustainability coordinator. Projects includw installing such items asnew windows, insulation and rooftop solar Solar-power projects account for about $2.3 millionb of that. About $12 millionb of the $40 million has been reserved for commercial with applications expected to be acceptesd latethis year. Local solar-installation companies say the loan program is one of the few brigh t spots in thelocaol economy.
“The best stimulusw work that we’ve had is in said JoElyn Newcomb, head of business development for the Colorad o armof , a solar power installatiomn company based in Bozeman, Mont. The companyu installed the solar system that powers the scoreboarcd atCoors Field. “Right now we have an eight-weemk wait to put a solar system up. Withoutg [the loan program], it would have been four We are hiring people forthe We’re definitely more cautious, but we’re hiring. Without [it] we woul not be hiring.” In Boulder County voters approved the new ClimateSmart Loan by a margin of 64 percentr to36 percent.
It’s modeled on a $1 millionn loan program sponsored by the cityof Calif., that’s restricted to rooftop solar power Boulder County’s program has more moneyg available and can be spent on a wider scope of Property owners take out a loan from the prograkm to complete projects; the paybacm is rolled into the property taxes, sticking with the buildin regardless of who owns it. It’s gained noticd around the country. Livingston said she’s givebn presentations to local governments in states suchas California, Coloradop and Texas. She’s also presented it to the and theClintonm Foundation. Interest rates on the initialk loans rangefrom 5.2 percent to 6.
68 Katie Lapins, a consultant in the pharmaceutical industry, had considered putting solae panels on her Erie home for years, but thoughg it was too expensive to pursue. Then the ClimateSmarty Loan Program started. “It seemed a good opportunityy to take advantage ofthe rebate, the 30 percent federal tax credit and the financinfg program,” Lapins said. “It just pushed you to do Lapins’ 4.2-kilowatt solar power installation is scheduled to be installedein mid-July by Louisville-based Bella Energyh Inc.
Lapins figures with all the rebates andtax credits, the $30,000o system will end up costing her about $10,000 to $12,000 with the payments made through her propertu taxes. “Depending on what energy costs do, my payback will be seven to 10 years to break Lapins said. “I plan on staying in the houseethat long, but even if I do sell it, it makesz the property more attractive [according to] the real estatee agents I’ve talked to.” One programj drawback is there are higher-than-expecte d upfront loan fees, meant to reassure the credit market that the program was a good investment, Livingston said.
Program participanta paid into a reserve fund and also pay the firstf yearof interest, she “One of the things we’ve certainly learnesd is that when you’re doingy a bond offering of a type that’s neve been offered anywhere in the countryg before, it results in extensive conversations with the Standard & Poor’s ratin agency,” Livingston said. “We needed some credit Some applicants balked at the highert fees and found cheapercredit elsewhere, such as througbh home equity loans, Livingston said. “We’rr excited about the $6.
6 million in directy projects, and we also know there’s been additionao money infused into the economy by peoplw who ended up using a home equity line of credift or some other methodof financing,” Livingston said. “But the loan program started them downthe