The Clean Energy Financing Program helps a municipality provide low interest financing to qualifying homeowners interested in undertaking clean energy upgrades. Once the upgrades are completed, the homeowner repays the municipality over time on their property tax bill – which is why these types of programs are often referred to as Property Assessed Clean Energy (PACE) financing. Alternately, they are sometimes called Property Assessed Payments for Energy Retrofits (PAPER).

Interested homeowners must register to participate in the Clean Energy Financing Program. After verifying that their property qualifies, the homeowner will enter into an agreement with the municipality to complete eligible clean energy upgrades. The municipality would then add a Local Improvement Charge on the property equal to the cost of the upgrades, plus lender rate and program fees.

The program is being administered by Clean Foundation on behalf of the municipality. Questions about the program and how it works can be directed to Clean at 1-844-727-7818 or cleanenergyfinancing@cleanfoundation.ca

Homeowners may qualify for low interest financing if:

• they own a detached, semi-detached, or row house (multi-unit buildings are not eligible for the program);
• all of the property owners consent to participation in the program;
• the property has been in good standing with respect to municipal taxes, rates, or charges;
• the residence is in a participating municipality;
• note, Town of Amherst also require a credit check for each homeowner.

Homeowners can apply for Clean Energy Financing based on the clean energy upgrade recommendations from a Home Energy Assessment performed by an Energy Advisor certified by Natural Resources Canada.

Eligible clean energy upgrades include the following:

1. Insulation for ceilings, floors, main walls, knee walls, foundation walls, foundation headers, foundation slabs, and crawlspaces
2. Draft proofing including caulking, weather stripping, and duct sealing
3. Exterior doors
4. Exterior windows
5. Domestic Hot Water Tanks
6. Drain Water Heat Recovery Systems
7. Heat Pumps
8. Wood & Pellet Heating Systems
9. Exhaust Ventilation
10. Balanced Heat Recovery Ventilation
11. Electric Vehicle Charging Stations*, ***
12. Electric Thermal Storage (ETS) Systems*, ***
13. Solar Hot Water Systems*
14. Solar Hot Air Systems*
15. Solar Photovoltaic Systems*
16. Swimming Pool Heating & Circulation Systems*
17. Well Pump**
18. Supplementary work required to successfully complete the above listed upgrades.  This may include but is not limited to removal of existing equipment or components, repairs and maintenance required, installation of vapour barriers and other water controls and freeze protection, testing and abatement of asbestos and vermiculite, and electrical upgrades

* These upgrades will require a supplementary assessment, in additional to a Home Energy Assessment, to determine if they meet the required savings-to-debt ratio.

** Only available to participants in District of Lunenburg and East Hants.

*** Not available in East Hants.

The intent of this program is for the cost of clean energy upgrades, program fees, and cost of borrowing to be less than or equal to the estimated energy savings over the financing period. The program will only finance an upgrade or upgrade package that meets this debt-to-savings ratio.

The Clean Energy Financing Program offers upgrade financing for a period of up to 15 years. This rate is fixed, and the municipalities will not negotiate different terms with homeowners. If a homeowner enters default, the interest rate will increase to the municipality’s tax arrears rate.

Municipality	PACE interest rate	Default interest rate
Municipality of the District of Chester	3%	TBD

Interest rates may be subject to change.

• Municipality of the District of Chester: lesser of $40,000 or 15 per cent of the full assessed property value

Visit CleanEnergyFinancing.ca to apply. If you need assistance completing the forms, please contact cleanenergyfinancing@cleanfoundation.ca or 1-844-727-7818.

You can book a certified Home Energy Assessment (HEA) through Clean Foundation by phone or email. Alternatively, you can book a HEA through another Nova Scotian Service Organization. 

If you book an assessment through Clean Foundation, the cost is covered by your Clean Energy Financing program participation fee. Please see the information on program fees in question 13 for more information. If you book through another Service Organization, you will be responsible for paying an additional assessment fee of $199 (plus any applicable taxes) to them directly.

Municipality	Program Fee
Municipality of Chester	$800

The program participation fee is non-refundable and will be included in your total financing amount. Should the Property Owner exit the program early, an admin fee of $300 will be charged regardless of location.

In addition to the provincial and federal retrofit incentives, you have access to through the Home Energy Assessment program, the program participation fee grants you access to low-cost financing, an additional Greenhouse Gas emissions retrofit incentive (where available), guidance from our team on what retrofits will be cost effective for your home, and ongoing support from our team of Energy Advisors and Technical Analysts.

This process is more in-depth than a typical home energy audit and requires our team to collect information beyond the scope of a standard assessment. This may include energy billing information, data from combustion analysis, zonal blower door test data, and/or additional photos and measurements of your home.

If a homeowner exits the Clean Energy Financing Program early, they will be billed a $300 program participation fee by the municipality. The program fee will become payable 30 days upon exiting the program.

If applicable in their municipality the homeowner will also be billed for the cost of any credit checks ($30 per homeowner).

Although we may be able to use some data from your previous assessment a visit to the home will still be required.

It is up to the homeowner to contact contractors to obtain quotes and to retain contractors to complete the approved clean energy upgrades.

Yes. Clean Foundation has a list of contractors on our Trade Partner Network page. Efficiency Nova Scotia also has a Partner Directory. Please note: Clean Energy Financing can only work with contractors with liability insurance and WCB clearance. We can also accept quotes from companies who do not appear on those lists; however, proof of the company’s WCB clearance & liability insurance must be provided along with their quote(s).

If you are unable to find a contractor who can do the work that you are interested in (for example, solar panels), please contact us. Unfortunately, the Clean Energy Financing program cannot finance the homeowner doing the work themselves.

Note: Neither Clean Foundation nor the municipality are responsible for the work quality of any contractors and assume no liability for the work undertaken.

Homeowners are not responsible for paying contractors. As program administrator, Clean Foundation will make pay the contractor directly.

However, where a homeowner has chosen to have additional work completed over and above the maximum financing amount, or an invoice exceeds the maximum approved financing limit, the homeowner will be responsible for paying the amount in excess of the maximum financing limit.

It is possible if the quote still meets the debt to savings ratio and is within the maximum financing limits. However, the homeowner is responsible for paying all costs in excess of the approved financing amount.

*Please Note: A suite of upgrades may only exceed the total financing amount by a maximum of $5,000 in most municipalities. One invoice can be partially financed as long as the total additional cost of all upgrades doesn’t exceed this $5,000 cap. The total amount financed will still be the pre-determined municipal maximum.

Clean will notify the affected contractor up-front so that they can issue a split invoice or Clean can arrange to make a down-payment on the invoice. It is the homeowner’s responsibility to pay the remainder of the invoice directly to the contractor.

Participants are strongly encouraged to complete the program within 6 months of signing the Customer Agreement.

Homeowners are responsible for selecting a contractor to complete the recommended upgrades, and that contractor is solely and entirely responsible for the quality of the work completed. Neither Clean Foundation nor the municipality are responsible for any defects in workmanship or materials.

For this reason, it is strongly recommended that homeowners select contractors who are bonded, insured, and who offer warranties that are in keeping with the industry standard.

No, this program is not requiring lender consent. However, it is recommended that you notify your mortgage lender about your participation in this program.

Yes. Homeowners may choose to pay off the balance of their financing in full at any time during the term of their financing, without any penalties.

Yes. Homeowners may choose to make a partial lump sum payment at any time during the term of their financing, without any penalties.

No. Once you have signed a Customer Agreement, the terms are locked and cannot be changed.

Pursuant to the municipality’s PACE By-Law, the Clean Energy Program financing constitutes a lien against the Property until the amount of the financing, applicable interest, administrative charges, and any penalties for missed payments, have been paid in full.

The PACE By-Law provides the municipality with a method of enforcing the payment of financing owing by the homeowner as is authorized by section 81A(1) of the Municipal Government Act. Under section 81A(1)(d) of the Municipal Government Act, this charge is a first lien on the property until the charge is paid in full.

After you send Clean the invoice for your last Clean Energy Upgrade you will be asked to make equal payments over a period of 10 years to repay the PACE Charge (i.e., upgrade costs, program fees, and interest accrued). In Chester, payments are made bi-annually.  Depending on your municipality, payments will be made through either a pre-authorized payment plan set up through the municipality or post-dated cheques. The payment schedule will be made available through the municipality.

If you exit the program without completing Clean Energy Upgrades, any incurred program fees will be due 30 days after you exit. The date of your exit is based on confirmation of Property Owner exit, or end of program term. If these program fees are not paid within 30 days, interest will be accrued on the outstanding balance and payable at the same rate applied by the Municipality for unpaid taxes.

During the process of sale, the Property Owner must provide a copy of the Customer Agreement to the new owners. When the property is transferred to a new owner the lien is transferred to the new owner along with the property. At this time, the new property owner shall continue to be liable to the Municipality for all Property Owner obligations and liabilities under this Agreement unless a lump sum payment
representing the outstanding balance of the Financing Charge plus accrued interest and any applicable late charges is received by the Municipality at the time of the sale.

District of Lunenburg: In the District of Lunenburg the CEF charge is non-transferable. If the property owner(s) decides to sell the property, a lump sum payment representing the outstanding balance of the CEF charge plus accrued interest and any applicable late charges must be received by the Municipality at the time of the sale.