Petros PACE Finance, LLC Helps Michigan Beer Distributor Finance Clean Energy Property Upgrades

AUSTIN, Texas - Feb. 15, 2016 - PRLog -- Petros PACE Finance, LLC of Austin, Texas announced today that they have provided PACE (Property Assessed Clean Energy) financing for the extensive, recently completed clean energy upgrades made by one of the nation’s largest beer distributors, Powers Distributing in Orion Township, Michigan.

The overall property improvements included more than 16,000 square feet of solar panels to the distributor’s recycling center and installation of LED lighting throughout the facility. These measures allow Powers Distributing to replace 360,000 kilowatt hours of traditional electricity each year and to reduce monthly energy costs by over $2,000.

Petros PACE provided more than $450,000 to finance the investment Powers Distributing made in the upgrades. The Michigan PACE statute allows companies like Powers to obtain long-term financing for 100% of the cost of clean energy upgrades.

“The team at Petros stepped right in, addressed our requirements, had extensive knowledge of the PACE statute and financing landscape, and really made this work for us,” said Gary Thompson, COO of Powers Distributing.

Petros PACE Finance is one of the first specialty finance firms in the U.S. to dedicate all of its resources to the commercial PACE market nationwide. In addition to Michigan, the firm is also working on projects in Texas, California and Florida.

“When we looked at the improvements Powers had made, along with the energy efficiencies that resulted from their investments, it was clear that they were serious about their carbon footprint reduction goals,” said Mansoor Ghori, CEO of Petros PACE Finance, LLC. “It was a great working relationship and we hope that other beverage distribution companies across the U.S. look to Powers for best practices in this area.”

Lean & Green Michigan, the PACE administrator for most of the Michigan market, was instrumental in helping to foster the project in Orion Township.

Property Assessed Clean Energy (PACE) financing is an innovative and relatively new funding mechanism that allows commercial property owners to retrofit their buildings with renewable energy/energy efficient systems by borrowing money from a private lender and repaying the loan via a special assessment on their local property taxes. PACE financing is now approved in 31 states and Washington, D.C. and is quickly becoming a go-to economic development tool for municipalities around the country without utilizing any taxpayer monies.

PACE financing makes comprehensive clean energy projects possible on a broader scale for the first time by:

•  ·       Providing up to 100% financing to commercial property owners in order to fund EE projects that deliver deep energy cost savings through the life of the loan.

•  ·       Rendering a private loan into a property tax obligation and enabling lenders to grant longer terms of up to 30 years or the useful life of the upgrades.

•  ·       Allowing commercial property owners to increase the value of their existing buildings by reducing total energy costs and increasing net operating income. Additionally, because the loan is attached to the property, the owner can sell the property and the new owner will inherit the obligation as well as the benefits of the EE upgrades.

According to a recent report released by PaceNow an industry advocacy organization, there are more than $300 million in PACE projects currently in the pipeline awaiting funding.  For more information on obtaining PACE financing for your project, visit www.petros-pace.com.

Petros PACE Finance

Petros PACE Finance, LLC is solely dedicated toproviding long-term PACE financing to commercial property owners across the U.S. looking to increase their property values and reduce their carbon footprint. The principals of Petros PACE Finance -- Mansoor Ghori, Tommy Deavenport, Jim Stanislaus and Ben Davis -- have substantial experience in structured finance and lending, and bring significant value to all parties involved in the transactions in which they participate. More information on Petros PACE Finance can be found at www.petros-pace.com