The wrong way to pay for solar

Consumer advocates are warning homeowners about a predatory financing program promoted as a way to make homes more energyefficient, said Rebecca Burns in Bloomberg .com. The program is called “property accessed clean energy, or PACE,” and it’s primarily sold door-to-door by contractors. They lure homeowners—often the elderly—into greenlighting an expensive, climate-friendly renovation, such as installing solar panels or energy-efficient windows. Instead of paying the cost upfront, the owners “pay back the balance—plus interest—via a surcharge on their annual property taxes,” which can be exorbitant. One victim’s “annual property taxes jumped from $300 to more than $17,000.” The program is only offered in three states— Florida, California, and Missouri—but already it’s been used by 280,000 homeowners.