A program called Property Assessed Clean Energy, or PACE has been around since 2007, offering financial incentives for private property owners to pay for energy retrofits and renewable energy installations on their home sites by adding the costs to their property bill. In effect, it's a transferable 15-20 year low interest loan (attached to the property) that becomes part of most people's monthly mortgage escrow account.
So why did the Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac choose to throw a wrench into the program? They apparently sent a letter out to the lenders that underwrite the funding for PACE warning them not to lend money under the program. But so far, the reason has eluded just about everyone. The letter they sent has been described as "cryptic" or "opaque."
It's hoped that Fannie and Freddie will quickly realize that their letter was reactionary at best, and not in anyone's best interests. But as Grist writer Jonathan Hiskes points out, they've already done damage simply by throwing doubt around a program that was creating jobs and solving environmental problems.
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