Counterpointe Sustainable Real Estate has closed $507,000 in C-PACE financing for the development of a 102 kW solar array atop a mixed-use industrial office at 57 Mall Dr. in Commack, N.Y., on Long Island.
The financing marks the first use of the Open C-PACE program in New York State. The project also qualified for a rebate of $15,000 from the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA).
“We are excited to have our PACE program expand into Suffolk County,” says Susan Morth, CEO of Energy Improvement Corp. (EIC), administrator of the program. “PACE is an important part of bringing energy savings to our communities and contributes to the goals of Governor Cuomo’s Reforming the Energy Vision.”
The project, developed by Excelsior Development, Queens N.Y., will improve the insulation of the building’s 22,500 square-foot roof and put in place 280 365W solar panels from JA Solar.
Open C-PACE provides building owners a tool to finance increased efficiency measures and renewable technologies that anticipate these changes while providing immediate operational benefits. The program is expected to help facilitate alternative heating technologies in regions facing constraints on the supply of gas, as well as to help address the challenges of an aging building stock in the state.
“Building owners are recognizing their output levels must change, but also that there are opportunities in managing to reduce energy consumption,” says Eric Alini, managing partner of CounterpointeSRE. “EIC, the utilities, contractors and the project developers that will install the new technologies and building infrastructure that will drive sustainable results are lining up to support this shift, and Counterpointe is going to be there to provide private capital through PACE financing.”
