Renovate America, Renew Financial Welcome Consumer Protections in New California Residential Clean Energy Law

SAN DIEGO and OAKLAND, Calif., Sept. 26, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Renovate America and Renew Financial, two of the nation's leading Property Assessed Clean Energy (PACE) financing providers, today welcomed a new California law that will provide an industry-wide framework for PACE financing. PACE is a California success story that is savings homeowners tens of millions of dollars on their utility bills, reducing greenhouse gas emissions, and creating thousands of clean-energy jobs.

Governor Jerry Brown on Sunday signed into law Assembly Bill 2693, which builds on the already-strong consumer protections in the PACE industry – protections not found in any other form of home-improvement financing. AB 2693, authored by Assemblymember Matt Dababneh (D-Encino), codifies these protections for all PACE providers, including requiring a new disclosure modeled after the federal mortgage Know-Before-You-Owe disclosure form so that customers can easily understand all of the terms associated with PACE financing.

"PACE is an innovation that was designed to solve a marketplace failure, and Governor Brown and the California Legislature are making that solution more robust for homeowners who choose to make their homes more energy and water efficient and capture the power of the sun," said Ari Matusiak, Renovate America EVP of Market Development and External Affairs. 

"Governor Brown has long champioed PACE, and because of his ongoing leadership it is now becoming available to homeowners across the country," Matusiak added. "We thank Chairman Dababneh for hearing all voices in the legislative process and thank all the legislators and advocates who worked to make this legislation a success for consumers and the environment alike."

Cisco DeVries, CEO of Oakland-based Renew Financial, said: "PACE has already allowed more than 100,000 California homeowners to make home improvements that save energy and water -- and repay for those improvements on their property tax bills. AB 2693 puts into law important disclosures that help homeowners understand the terms of their financing. As PACE has grown dramatically in the last several years, these types of protections are important so that all consumers will get the same information, regardless who provides their PACE financing."

The companies are instituting the new disclosures in the coming days, and the law takes effect Jan. 1.

About Renovate America
Renovate America partners with state and local governments to offer communities the HERO Program. HERO is the leading residential PACE program in the U.S. and has financed more than $1.8 billion of home improvements. HERO is on track to save its customers more than $3 billion in energy and water bills, and has created more than 15,000 clean-energy jobs. This unique public-private partnership offers consumers access to financing for more than 60 types of products that reduce energy and water consumption, without the need for government funding. The HERO Program has received a number of recognitions including a Climate Leadership Certificate for Innovative Partnerships by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, inclusion in the 2016 White House Water Summit, the Governor's Environmental and Economic Leadership Award in California, and the Urban Land Institute Best of the Best.

About Renew Financial

Renew Financial was founded in 2008 by Cisco DeVries, who brought together a multidisciplinary team of experts in finance, technology, operations and government policy to innovate the Property Assessed Clean Energy (PACE) financing model. The company specializes in affordable financing for renewable energy, energy efficiency and water conservation projects and is developing an array of financing products that will help move America toward a clean energy model.

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SOURCE Renovate America

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