CWA Local 6300 and Ygrene deliver PACE financing to protect building for years to come

Communications Workers of America Local 6300 (CWA) has completed of renovations on its building at 2258 Grisson Drive in St. Louis County.

The 22,000-square-foot building was constructed in 1968 and contains offices and a meeting area that can hold 300 people.

The renovations include interior and exterior upgrades and were financed through Ygrene and the St. Louis County Property Assessed Clean Energy (PACE) Program (www.mo-esp.com).

“Partnering with Ygrene in providing PACE financing to fund our new ‘cool roof’ worked out well because it allowed us to fund more capital improvements while not impacting our cash reserves too much,” said Mark Johnson, president of CWA Local 6300. “With the new cool roof, we will save more money on utility bills and protect our building for years to come.”

ENERGY IMPROVEMENTS

The County PACE program provides private financing solutions for property owners to fund energy efficiency and renewable energy projects such as solar, cool roofing, energy efficient HVAC, insulation, windows, efficient LED lighting, and others. Property owners then pay back the financing as a line item on their property tax bills over fixed terms of up to 20 years.

“Energy improvements eligible for PACE are critical to their properties and access to this financing tool allows more projects like cool roofs to happen all across the region,” said Tom Appelbaum, president of Sustainable Solutions LLC.

“In turn, more cool roofs, more energy efficiency translates into more community resiliency, less of the ‘heat island’ effect, and formerly outsourced energy costs — for example, coal-based electricity — turn into savings that are spent locally,” he said.

The U.S. Department of Energy states that cool roofing during warmer seasons can result in 50°F degrees of cooling versus standard or dark roofs.

PACE PROGRAM

The CWA utilized St. Louis County’s PACE program to finance $264,927 for its cool roof and other measures. The financing is for a period of 20-years with an annual payment of $25,495.

Jim Taylor, Inc., a 100 percent union shop and certified woman-owned business enterprise, was contracted to install the new cool roof.

The Missouri Energy Savings Program — St. Louis County’s PACE program — originated with an ordinance sponsored by then-Councilman Sam Page in 2015. The program has completed 201 residential projects for $3,017,132 and 14 commercial projects for $8,183,104 without any increases in public spending

There are four active PACE programs in Missouri which have completed $150 million in PACE projects and created more than 2,250 good-paying jobs such as electricians, carpenters, insulators, heating and cooling technicians, and solar installers.