This post was contributed by a community member. The views expressed here are the author's own.

Health & Fitness

PACE Solar Funds Debut in Riverside County

There's never been a better time for homeowners in Western Riverside County to go solar.

Part 1 of a 3 part series briefing Western Riverside property owners on solar financing now available through the largest U.S. property accessed clean energy (PACE) program.

There’s never been a better time for homeowners in Western Riverside County to go solar.

The Western Riverside Council of Governments has launched the nation’s largest PACE financing program to help residential and commercial property owners pay for the installation of solar panels and other energy improvements that will save energy.

Find out what's happening in Murrietawith free, real-time updates from Patch.

Riverside County Supervisor Jeff Stone was one of the first to take advantage of WRCOG’s Home Energy Renovation Opportunity (HERO) program.

“I can’t tell you how easy it was to do it,” Stone told a group of property owners at a recent breakfast meeting hosted by and Structured Finance at the Bear Creek Golf Club. “The process is really simple.”

Find out what's happening in Murrietawith free, real-time updates from Patch.

Under the HERO program, qualified homeowners can often put solar on their rooftops with no money down and payments made as a part of the home’s property tax bill.

In most cases, the interest on the loan is tax deductible. Rebates, credits and other financial incentives make solar more  affordable than ever, Stone said.

He chose HelioPower as the company to do the job.

"I am very pleased to say that I’ve had friends that have utilized them and been very happy with their service,” he said.

Douglas McAllister, mayor of the City of Murrieta, credited the HERO program and HelioPower with helping to create jobs through innovation and entrepreneurship.

“You have folks who are able to innovate, to create the programs and  technology to do these wonderful things. And then you have the entrepreneurs. They’re the ones who go out and find the customers to  sell them to,” McAllister said. “You put those two things together, you are going to create jobs every time.”

Stone agreed, adding that solar power can is not just a smart economic decision, it’s good for the nation, too.

“It’s going to decrease our dependence on foreign oil,” he said. “And we know a lot of foreign oil comes from rogue nations that do not necessarily have the best interests of this country as their first  thought.”

For more information about the HERO program, visit www.wrcogpace.com. To learn more about the products and services available through HelioPower, visit www.HelioPower.com.

We’ve removed the ability to reply as we work to make improvements. Learn more here

The views expressed in this post are the author's own. Want to post on Patch?