Connecticut Green Bank C-PACE (Commercial Property Assessed Clean Energy)
Connecticut Green Bank
Up to 100% of project cost
No-money-down clean-energy upgrades
C-PACE is Connecticut's commercial clean-energy financing program, administered by the Connecticut Green Bank — the nation's first state green bank. It lets owners of commercial, industrial, multifamily (5+ units), and nonprofit buildings finance up to 100% of energy-efficiency, renewable-energy, and resilience upgrades with no money down. The financing is repaid through a benefit assessment lien on the property tax bill over a term of 5 to 25 years (matched to the useful life of the improvements), and the repayment obligation transfers to the next owner if the building is sold. Because it is secured by the property rather than the business, C-PACE is accessible to small businesses and building owners who might not qualify for conventional financing. Each retrofit project must show an energy-savings-to-investment ratio (SIR) greater than 1.
- Funding type
- Loan
- Level
- State
- Amount range
- Up to 100% of project cost
- Realistic amount
- Typical CT C-PACE projects run from roughly $30,000 for a small lighting or HVAC retrofit to…
- Deadline
- Rolling — applications accepted year-round as long as the property's municipality has opted into the C-PACE program.
- Status
- active
- States
- Connecticut
- Payment model
- loan
Who qualifies
- Owner of a commercial, industrial, multifamily (5+ units), or nonprofit building located in a participating Connecticut municipality
- Project must be a retrofit permanently affixed to existing infrastructure (new construction has a separate C-PACE track)
- Improvements must demonstrate an energy-savings-to-investment ratio (SIR) greater than 1 (EV charging infrastructure is exempt from the SIR requirement)
- Property taxes and mortgage must generally be current; existing mortgage holder consent is required
- Owner must be the property owner (tenants cannot apply directly)
What it covers
Eligible expenses
- Solar PV, solar thermal, wind, geothermal, and fuel-cell renewable-energy systems
- High-efficiency lighting, HVAC, boilers and furnaces
- Building automation / energy management systems
- Building enclosure and envelope improvements (insulation, windows, roofing)
- Industrial process controls, heat recovery, and process equipment upgrades
- Electric vehicle charging infrastructure (exempt from SIR requirement)
- Project soft costs (engineering, energy audits, installation)
Ineligible expenses
- Appliances (refrigerators, dishwashers, etc.)
- Plug-load devices
- Measures with an energy-savings-to-investment ratio (SIR) of 1 or less
- Improvements not permanently affixed to the property
- Residential 1–4 unit properties (use the residential Smart-E program instead)
How to apply
-
1
Confirm municipality participation and scope the project
Verify your town has opted into C-PACE (most Connecticut municipalities have). Identify eligible measures — solar, HVAC, lighting, building envelope, controls, EV charging — and get a contractor scope and cost estimate.
~3 hrs
-
2
Submit application and energy analysis
Apply through CT Green Bank's C-PACE portal with the project scope, cost, and an energy savings analysis demonstrating an SIR greater than 1. CT Green Bank or its technical reviewer validates the savings.
~5 hrs
-
3
Secure mortgage-holder consent
Because C-PACE creates a senior benefit assessment lien, your existing mortgage lender must consent. CT Green Bank provides standard consent documents to streamline this step.
~4 hrs
-
4
Close financing and complete the project
Execute the financing agreement with a capital provider, complete construction, and begin repaying through your property tax bill over the agreed 5–25 year term.
~3 hrs
Because C-PACE repayment is tied to the property (not your business credit) and transfers on sale, it is one of the few clean-energy financing tools a cash-strapped small building owner can actually qualify for. Stack it with the federal Section 48E investment tax credit or 179D deduction on the same solar/efficiency project — C-PACE finances the upfront cost while the federal credit reduces the net cost.
Deadline & timing
No application window. C-PACE is available in any Connecticut municipality that has opted into the program (most have). Financing closes on a deal-by-deal basis after the project and SIR are approved.
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Last reviewed 2026. GrantCompass is an independent funding-discovery tool and is not affiliated with any government agency. Always confirm details on the official program page.