Tulsa County Launches Cost-Saving Energy, Water Program
Courtesy Adriane Jaynes
INCOG
Tulsa County launched a program to lower the cost of energy and water efficient construction in April and the first project was recently finalized. Commercial Property Assessed Clean Energy Financing, commonly known as C-PACE, is a tool used in 25 states to enable lower cost access to energy and water saving technologies, along with resilience measures and alternative energy – which can lead to substantial savings in operational costs over the life of a building.
Tulsa County is the first county in Oklahoma to offer C-PACE, launching a limited pilot program in December, 2019 and launching its full program in April, 2021.
Tulsa County worked with INCOG and the Oklahoma Department of Commerce to develop Oklahoma C-PACE, created for Tulsa County, but which can be used in any county interested in establishing a C-PACE program at no cost to participating counties through INCOG. Learn more at www.oklahomacpace.org.
Tulsa County Commissioner Ron Peters remarked, “We are excited to be the first county in Oklahoma to offer C-PACE, and proud to partner with INCOG and Department of Commerce to offer the program to other counties so they can leverage the countless hours our team has put into C-PACE to quickly enable access as our economy rebounds from the effects of COVID-19.”
C-PACE projects do not use grants or public funds. C-PACE enables private market loans, which are tied to the building’s county property tax record as an assessment and paid annually. These assessments enable longer term loans, up to 30 years, or over the average useful life of the improvements. This mechanism lowers the upfront costs of such projects and allows property owners to utilize the realized energy savings to pay the loan. If the property is sold, any remaining assessment is passed to the new property owner.
On May 3, the Tulsa County Board of County Commissioners approved the first C-PACE assessment under Tulsa County’s Oklahoma C-PACE program for the new 40-bed Tulsa Rehabilitation Hospital in southeast Tulsa. Tulsa Rehab Hospital is an inpatient rehabilitation hospital from NKD Rehab, a partnership between Kennor Holdings, Cross Development, and Nobis Rehabilitation Partners.
NKD Rehab qualified for the assessment by planning to implement energy efficiency improvements in the new construction project, including LED lighting, wall and roof insulation, efficient windows, high-efficiency HVAC and water heating systems and low-flow fixtures. Petros PACE Finance was the direct lender selected by NKD Rehab to provide C-PACE financing.
INCOG is proud to administer Oklahoma C-PACE for Tulsa County and looks forward to expanding to any county in Oklahoma with interest in the program.
