Last week, the law firm of Bryant Miller Oliver said that at the beginning of October the Florida Supreme Court ruled that municipalities in the state can issue bonds funding property assessed clean energy (PACE) programs. The decision came in an appeal of a bond validation judgement that was decided in favor of the Leon County Energy Improvement District. The district, the release says, had been seeking authority to issue $200 million in bonds PACE funding.
The case stemmed from an effort of Bing Energy International, a company in Tallahassee, to use PACE financing last year for a green energy project in the city.
Florida is not the only state in which PACE programs are making progress. The city council of Washington, MS, last week approved an ordinance authorizing the establishment of a clean energy development board. The board will administer PACE programs in the city. The board will set guidelines for PACE projects and clarify definitions for the program, according to The Missourian.
