Solar Energy Industries Association releases two new documents to support solar investments

The Solar Energy Industries Association’s (SEIA) Commercial and Industrial Working Group released Wednesday two documents designed to motivate investment in commercial solar projects.

SEIA released a contract that combines aspects of a Power Purchase Agreement (PPA) with Property Assessed Clean Energy (PACE) to create a new financing option for customers. Ballard Spahr and CleanFund Commercial PACE Capital, Inc. played leading roles in developing the document.

“The PACE PPA further builds out SEIA’s suite of model contracts so all solar transactions can be efficiently negotiated and financed,” Mike Mendelsohn, SEIA’s senior director of project finance and capital markets, said. “Our goal is to broadly open the U.S. commercial real estate sector for solar deployment, and the PACE PPA is a valuable tool to allow that progress to happen.”

The other document is an educational report that provides information about the value of on-site solar to commercial property owners. The report, Solar Energy & Commercial Real Estate (CRE): Insights for Your Investment Property, said that solar systems can allow commercial property owners to raise rents, lower operating expenses, negotiate lease extensions, and increase the net present value of their buildings. SolarKal co-authored the report.