Clean Energy Financing Program Comes to Middletown

MIDDLETOWN, Ohio – The city of Middletown, Ohio activated its Energy Special Improvement District, allowing the municipality to establish a local commercial Property Assessed Clean Energy financing program in partnership with Plug Smart, one of Ohio’s energy service firms.

PACE is an innovative, flexible financing solution where energy conservation savings are used to help commercial property owners obtain off-balance sheet, long-term financing for energy efficiency and renewable energy projects with no capital outlay.

Plug Smart will act as the lead program administrator, assisting in the development, launch and operation of PACE on behalf of the City of Middletown. PACE will help City of Middletown’s commercial property owners more easily secure 100 percent funding for building improvements, including LED lighting, HVAC, temperature controls, boilers/chillers, access/security controls, elevators and building envelope (roof, doors, windows, insulation) in retrofit, gut rehab, renovation, building addition or new construction projects—with no out of pocket costs.

As a public-private partnership, PACE authorizes municipalities to work with private sector lenders to offer upfront financing to qualified building improvement projects, and collect the repayment through voluntary, annual municipal special assessments on property tax bills for up to 30 years. This allows property owners to pay for building improvements over time while enjoying the benefits of lower energy and maintenance bills.

Partnering with Plug Smart provides the City of Middletown with administrative, marketing, financial and technical support, including PACE program guidance, application processing services, program performance tracking, education and outreach, analysis of submitted energy conservation projects, technical underwriting and identification and support of capital providers.

For more info, contact Matt Kussman, Plug Smart project development manager by phone at 937-243-1117 or email at matt.kussman@plugsmart.com.