Through a new approach to financing building renovations, NEW-PACE seeks to remove one of the greatest barriers faced by homeowners. The upfront investment and access to financing. Over the next three years, the project will test an innovative Property-Linked Annuity Canon (PACE) product that covers up to 100% of the costs of energy renovation and can be considered off-balance sheet. Repayments remain with the property, not the individual borrower, ensuring continuity when ownership changes; which would eliminate the main economic obstacle faced by homeowners.

This model, a pioneer in Europe, is inspired by successful Property Assessed Clean Energy (PACE) schemes in Canada, South Africa, and the United States. Through the NEW-PACE project, this scheme will be adapted to the regulatory environment of the European building stock to accelerate its implementation. The first pilot project will be launched in Spain through PACE (Prestación Adscrita a unCanon Ecológico), a specific solution adapted to the national context. The project will proceed with its adaptation in the Netherlands, laying the groundwork for future rollout in other EU Member States. It will also include a comprehensive regulatory analysis and a guide to encourage property owners, institutions, the financial sector and investors to embrace this mechanism.

Eduardo Brunet, Director of GFI Spain, expresses having “great confidence in the potential of the PACE model to accelerate housing renovation, as it addresses the key obstacle that homeowners, especially the most vulnerable, encounter when making their homes more efficient, such as the initial costs and the need for financing. It is great news that the first pilots are going to be developed in Spain by GFI. This is a solution that we have been promoting for several years in other countries, and we are convinced that this project will help Spanish and European administrations to learn about its advantages and support its implementation”.