Arlington County is the first jurisdiction in Virginia to offer an innovative financing deal to help businesses become more sustainable.

The Arlington Commercial Property Assessed Clean Energy, or C-PACE, program is helping Rocklands Barbeque and Grilling Company pay for roof upgrades and solar panel systems totaling 44 kilowatts on two properties along Washington Boulevard.

Through the program, the County brings together building owners seeking sustainability with private capital providers so owners of existing buildings can obtain financing for up to 100 percent of the cost of energy efficiency, renewable energy and water conservation projects for up to 25 years.

Arlington Community Federal Credit Union financed the Rocklands loan. Arlington was the first county in Virginia to enact a C-PACE ordinance, launching the program in 2018 as part of the Arlington Initiative to Rethink Energy, known as AIRE.

Commercial property developers can also access C-PACE financing for up to 20 percent of a new building’s total eligible construction cost if the building is designed to exceed current energy code performance by 5 percent or more, or exceed the former energy code performance by 15 percent or more.

Unlike other forms of project financing, the C-PACE program can cover all of a project’s hard and soft costs.

For more information, visit this website.