Loan pushes energy projects in Boulder - Phoenix Business Journal:

adamovaichive.blogspot.com
There are 394 residentiao projects, totaling about $6.6 millioh in 15-year loans, now under way, said Ann Boulder County’s sustainability coordinator. Projects include installing such item s asnew furnaces, windows, insulation and rooftopp solar panels. Solar-power projects account for about $2.3 millio of that. About $12 milliob of the $40 million has been reservedf forcommercial projects, with applications expected to be accepted late this Local solar-installation companies say the loan program is one of the few brigh spots in the local economy.
“The best stimulus work that we’ve had is in said JoElyn Newcomb, head of business development for the Coloradoo armof , a solarf power installation company based in Bozeman, The company installed the solar system that powerws the scoreboard at Coorss Field. “Right now we have an eight-weekk wait to put a solar system up. Withoug [the loan program], it woulr have been four weeks. We are hiring peoplse for the summer. We’re definitely more but we’re hiring. Without [it] we woulr not be hiring.
” In November, Boulder Count y voters approved the new ClimateSmartLoan Program, by a margihn of 64 percent to 36 It’s modeled on a $1 milliojn loan program sponsored by the city of Berkeley, that’s restricted to rooftop solar powerf projects. Boulder County’s program has more money available and can be spent on a wider scopeof projects. Property owners take out a loan from the program tocompletwe projects; the payback is rolled into the property taxes, sticking with the building regardless of who owns it. It’es gained notice around the Livingstonsaid she’s given presentations to local governments in states such as California, Colorado and Texas.
She’d also presented it to the and the Clinton Interest rates on the initial loans rangefrom 5.2 percentt to 6.68 percent. Katie a consultant in the pharmaceutical industry, had consideredr putting solar panels on her Erie home for but thought it was too expensivdeto pursue. Then the ClimateSmart Loan Program “It seemed a good opportunity to take advantag ofthe [Solar*Rewards] rebate, the 30 percent federalo tax credit and the financing program,” Lapinws said. “It just pushed you to do Lapins’ 4.2-kilowatt solar power installation is scheduled to be installedin mid-July by Louisville-based Bella Energy Inc.
Lapins figures with all the rebatez andtax credits, the $30,000 system will end up costing her abou $10,000 to $12,000 — with the paymentas made through her property taxes. “Dependinvg on what energy costs do, my payback will be sevenj to 10 years tobreak even,” Lapin said. “I plan on staying in the hous that long, but even if I do sell it, it makesz the property more attractive [according to] the real estated agents I’ve talked One program drawback is thereare higher-than-expecte d upfront loan fees, meant to reassurs the credit market that the programm was a good investment, Livingston Program participants paid into a reserve fund and also pay the firstt year of interest, she said.
“Onw of the things we’ve certainly learneds is that when you’ree doing a bond offerinh of atype that’s never been offered anywhere in the country before, it results in extensive conversations with the Standard Poor’s rating agency,” Livingston said. “We needed some credit Some applicants balked at the highere fees and found cheaper credit such as through homeequity loans, Livingston said. “We’red excited about the $6.
6 million in direc projects, and we also know there’sw been additional money infused into the economy by peoplr who ended up using a home equity line of creditf or some other methodof financing,” Livingsto n said. “But the loan program started them downthe