That includes, she adds, businesses that provide technical support for things like energy audits.

C-PACE works with a variety of lenders, from commercial banks to national specialty lenders, that put money into the program to fund projects. “There are different value propositions depending on whom you’re talking to, but basically we want to make sure they understand where they can lend, what’s allowed in the program (and) spotlight them when we can,” she says.

Another part of VPA’s mission is teaching local governments the value of offering C-PACE because it provides another tool for companies to invest or reinvest in their communities and can help meet local climate goals. Johnson says that a locality can offer C-PACE financing on its own or in addition to other incentives it already has.

Johnson advocated for state legislation that lets cities like Norfolk, Chesapeake, and Virginia Beach add the C-PACE financing and resilience program to their city codes. More recently, she helped push to clarify the state statute about the kinds of resiliency improvements that can be made through the program, such as flood mitigation, living shorelines, improvements for fire or wind resistance, energy storage and more, so that more people could understand what C-PACE can do.

The PACEfi platform, developed by CleanFinancing, was created to connect property owners and developers with lenders. Users enter their basic information and receive three “soft quotes,” Johnson says. “It gives you an idea of what your cash flow would be based on what these lenders pre-entered into our system.” It’s geared toward smaller deals, she adds, or those under $1 million.

The two pilot programs in Hampton Roads showcase how C-PACE works. One is an existing, older building in Norfolk, the other is new construction in Chesapeake. VPA used some of the RISE money to pay Ecovative Energy Inc., a subcontractor, to develop an energy and resiliency analysis for a light commercial structure being built by Charlotte Loen and her father, Tim Loen of AMVET, a Chesapeake-based geothermal and drilling company.

RISE and Shine: Virginia PACE Authority (VPA)

RISE Challenge winner VPA’s C-PACE program offers borrowers a new, cost-effective way to finance resilience improvements