For business owners
Upgrade your building with no out-of-pocket costs.
Rhode Island C-PACE is long-term financing for energy efficiency, renewables, water conservation, and related upgrades on commercial and industrial properties. You repay through a voluntary assessment on the property tax bill, similar to a water or sewer assessment. This guide walks owners through how it works and how to get started.
Prefer the brochure? Download the C-PACE fact sheet (PDF).
How C-PACE works
Financing attached to the property, not your personal credit.
RIIB sponsors and administers Rhode Island’s statewide C-PACE program. An approved capital provider funds the project. Repayment is secured through a voluntary special assessment on the building owner’s property tax bill.
Because the obligation runs with the property, the assessment can transfer on sale when program terms allow. That structure is why owners often use C-PACE for deep retrofits and solar without tying up working capital or signing personal guarantees.
Projects are usually designed so projected energy cost savings outweigh the assessment payment, supporting a cash-flow-positive upgrade. Utility incentives and tax benefits stay available to the owner when program rules allow.
- Finance up to 100% of eligible hard and soft costs
- No personal guarantees
- Long terms (up to 25 years) with fixed-rate capital from approved providers
- Repay through a voluntary assessment on the property tax bill
- Energy savings often outweigh the assessment, supporting cash-flow-positive projects
- Owner retains tax incentives and can stack utility incentives
- Open-market financing through approved capital providers
- Assessment can transfer with the property on sale (subject to program terms)
What you can finance
Common upgrades owners bring to C-PACE.
Ask your contractor what fits your building. Measures must be permanent improvements (or other approved measures) on eligible property. RIIB can review proposed measures that are not on the standard list.
- High-efficiency lighting and automated building controls
- HVAC upgrades, boilers, chillers, furnaces, and hot water systems
- Building envelope work (insulation, windows, roof upgrades tied to energy performance)
- Solar PV and other renewable energy systems
- Combined heat and power (CHP)
- Water efficiency fixtures and conservation measures
- Alternative fuel infrastructure such as EV charging
- Certain environmental health and safety work (for example asbestos or lead abatement)
Eligible property types
- Commercial and industrial buildings (office, retail, lodging, manufacturing, agricultural)
- Nonprofit facilities such as houses of worship and private schools
- Multifamily residential with five or more units (not for-sale condo portions)
- Existing buildings and eligible new construction (talk with RIIB early on new builds)
Need the formal eligibility write-up and participating communities? See the C-PACE program page.
Example projects from the brochure
HVAC, lighting, water, and envelope
One owner used C-PACE for HVAC, water-efficient fixtures, interior LED lighting, and attic insulation/sealing.
$94,466 financing · Projected savings over $20,000
Solar PV
Another project financed a 41.7 kW solar PV system through C-PACE.
$135,113 financing · Projected savings nearly $280,000
Getting started
A two-step application path with room to line up your partners.
Program guidelines split the process into an Initial Application (conditional approval) and a Final Application (full documentation). Contact Jim Braz early; RIIB helps owners and developers keep the pieces moving together.
- 01
Confirm the project and community
Check that your building type and upgrade category fit the program, and that the city or town has opted into statewide C-PACE. RIIB can confirm participation and point you to the current community list.
- 02
Assemble your team early
C-PACE closes when the owner, an approved contractor, an approved capital provider, and RIIB stay aligned. Start conversations early so eligibility for each party is underway before the final package.
Pre-approval eligibility checks typically take about 5–7 business days once materials arrive.
- 03
Submit the Initial Application
Step 1 is a streamlined interest and eligibility pass: preliminary project details and confirmation that intended parties are moving toward program eligibility. Qualified projects receive conditional approval; funding still depends on Step 2.
Initial project eligibility review is often about 3–5 business days after a complete submission.
- 04
Secure mortgage holder consent
Existing mortgage or lien holders must acknowledge and consent in writing before final approval. Plan time for lender review; this step usually drives the overall schedule more than RIIB’s administrative turnaround.
RIIB’s administrative check of completed consent is typically quick (about 1–2 business days).
- 05
Complete the Final Application and close
Step 2 packages full project documentation for RIIB review. Incomplete materials delay approval. Once approved, financing is provided by your capital provider and repayment is secured through the voluntary C-PACE assessment recorded with the municipality.
RIIB aims to review a complete Final Application within about 10 business days.
What owners are saying
Working capital stays in the business. The building still gets the upgrade.
“Given the condition of our building C-PACE was the only source of financing that made sense to us. What excites me about the program is that it offers building owners and investors a way to fix a dilapidated building. With RI C-PACE you can take something that was basically unusable and turn it into something valuable.”
Bill Fegley, managing director, Helping Hands Community Partners
“The C-PACE program allowed us to finance 100% of our solar and roof project. C-PACE financing doesn’t tie up my working capital, making it easy for us to invest in our employees and business. With the cash flow savings from the solar project, using C-PACE made this project a slam dunk.”
Larry Fish, owner, Pier Cleaners
Capital providers
RIIB administers. Approved providers fund.
Project financing comes from the capital providers below (roster from the live program page). Your path usually includes choosing a provider that fits the project size and structure, then completing their underwriting alongside the RIIB application steps.
- BankRI
- Bayview PACE
- Benefit Street Partners
- Centreville Bank
- CleanFund Commercial PACE Capital, Inc.
- Counterpointe Sustainable Real Estate LLC
- Enhanced PACE Finance, LLC
- IKAV PACE, LLC
- LordCap PACE
- New York City Energy Efficient Corporation
- Nuveen Green Capital
- PACE Loan Group
- PeachTree | Stonehill PACE
- Petros PACE Finance, LLC
- Twain Financial Partners
- Western Alliance Banc
- White Oak Global Advisors LLC
- Ygrene
Contractor registration and the current approved contractor list are in the downloads below.
Downloads
Forms, guidelines, and contractor resources.
Next step
Ready to talk through a project?
Jim Braz, Director, Commercial Clean Energy Services at Rhode Island Infrastructure Bank, can walk you through community opt-in, capital providers, and the application path.