Property Assessed Clean Energy (PACE)
With strong practices in public finance, including special tax and assessment districts, and in securitization, we are one of the few firms in the country with substantial experience in the formation, validation and financing of Property Assessed Clean Energy (PACE) districts and the securitization of PACE liens.
Soon after the passage of AB 811 in California in 2008, we began working with clients and other interested market participants on a variety of legal and structural issues associated with PACE and on possible financing structures. Since then, we have counseled numerous issuers, program administrators, lenders and others in California and several other states.
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- Serving as program counsel, validation counsel, and bond counsel on California Statewide Communities Development Authority’s Open PACE program, with two program administrators, of which one is currently active, being Alliance NRG (consisting of Deutsche Bank Securities, CounterPointe Energy Solutions and Leidos Engineering).
- Serving as program counsel, validation counsel and bond counsel on California Municipal Finance Authority’s PACE program with two current program administrators, PACE Funding and Energy Efficient Equity (E3).
- Representing Deutsche Bank on PACE programs nationally, including, in addition to the foregoing, soft story seismic programs in several California cities (including San Francisco), and PACE programs in Louisiana and New Jersey.
- Counseled Ygrene Energy Fund and Sacramento County, Yolo County, Butte County, Coachella Valley Association of Governments, City of Chula Vista, and Mendocino County with respect to the establishment, validation and implementation of separate PACE programs under SB 555 (a Mello-Roos, Community Facilities District alternative to AB 811 assessment district approach, which we helped to draft), and representing Ygrene with respect to a statewide PACE program through California Home Finance Authority. We also advise Ygrene with respect to PACE matters nationally, including in Florida and Georgia.
- Securitization counsel to Ygrene Energy Fund on a multistate open securitization program.
- Serving as issuer’s counsel and validation counsel to California Statewide Communities Development Authority in connection with the CaliforniaFirst program administered by Renewable Funding.
