Interest rates on a Sonoma County Energy Program are set to increase. The Sonoma County Energy Independence Program, which helps property owners pay for improvements that utilize energy and water more efficiently and strengthen buildings against wildfires and earthquakes, has announced that interest rates on new financing will increase a half percent to 7.49 percent on July 1. The board of supervisors approved the hike after getting the annual report on the program. Chair of the Board, Chris Coursey, calls the rates “still very competitive with other types of financing….” The Energy Independence Program finances more than 100 eligible improvements for energy efficiency, water conservation, renewable power, wildfire safety and seismic strengthening. It does so with Property Assessed Clean Energy loans, also known as PACE loans. There has been controversy associated with PACE loans, because the PACE lien is generally in the first position and comes with the risk of foreclosure even if you make regular mortgage payments. For this reason, Los Angeles County suspended these types of home improvement programs in 2020 after years of criticism that the county enabled predatory lending and put people at risk of losing their homes.
Interest Rates Going Up for Sonoma County’s Energy Independence Program
