An Update on the PACE Program

Recently I wrote a blog post titled "The PACE Program Vs. Mortgage Giants." Here's an update:

PACE (which stands for "Property Assessed Clean Energy") programs continue to attempt to help our communities even though the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA)—which regulates Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac—has issued a dubious statement claiming that PACE loans constitute "unusual and difficult risk management challenges."

Many individuals have raised concern about the effect of stopping or suppressing these PACE loans.  San Francisco Assessor-Recorder Phil Ting weighed into the battle recently withan article that summarizes the situation, places hope on actions trying to correct the situation, and gives positive reasons for supporting these programs.

An excerpt from the article that sums it up nicely: "[The PACE] clean energy/green jobs program has already attracted more than $150 million in federal stimulus funds. PACE is saving homeowners money, creating skilled jobs and battling climate change on a broad level. That's why it is so disappointing that a federal government bureaucracy is working at cross-purposes to President Barack Obama's vision of creating new green jobs - and has issued a ruling that will virtually end the pioneering program."

And on the other hand, an article in the Chronicle this week includes a headline, "Obama acts as clean-tech venture capitalist" and purports his efforts to leverage "green" into jobs.

I know the workings of government are complicated and often confusing, but it would seem that the FHFA is creating a serious roadblock to aiding the economic recovery. I do believe PACE Loans will eventually succeed in some format.  I hope it can happen quickly enough to help generate jobs and add a boost to the economy while reducing our carbon footprint.