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FHFA

Breaking News: PACE Dies in the Ninth Circuit

The West Coast PACE litigation party appears to have ended. After favorable rulings from the California Northern District Court for PACE backers, the Ninth Circuit today dismissed the case outright. As background, Property Assessed Clean Energy (PACE) programs allow municipal governments to finance residential and commercial energy improvements, with property owners repaying the governments via …

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Comments on FHFA’s Proposed Rule on Enterprise Writing Standards for PACE Programs

As we have chronicled earlier on this blog, the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA)’s court-ordered rulemaking on Enterprise Writing Standards for Property-Assessed Clean Energy (PACE) programs resulted in thousands of public comments in response to the Agency’s Advance Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (ANPR)—the overwhelming majority in support of PACE. Today is the deadline for submitting …

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BREAKING NEWS: Another West Coast Win for PACE Energy Financing

Almost a year later, California wins again in the effort to reverse a federal agency’s 2010 decision that decimated PACE, a promising financing program for residential energy efficiency and renewable investments. Federal District Court Judge Claudia Wilken ruled today that the Federal Housing Finance Authority (FHFA) violated the Administrative Procedure Act’s (APA) notice-and-comment requirement when …

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Picking Up the PACE: FHFA Releases Proposed Property-Assessed Clean Energy Rule

It has been a long road for supporters of Property-Assessed Clean Energy (PACE) programs. With the recent release of the Federal Housing Finance Agency’s Proposed Rule on enterprise underwriting standards and mortgage assets affected by PACE programs, some residential PACE supporters may be reasonably fatigued. But while the agency’s Proposed Rule maintains its position that …

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PACE Advocates Keep Piling On FHFA

The hits keep coming. As I’ve been chronicling, the Federal Housing Finance Administration’s decision to effectively destroy the energy efficiency and renewable energy financing program called Property Assessed Clean Energy (PACE) is inviting serious legal and political blowback. First, California Attorney General Jerry Brown sues the feds, and now Sonoma County, the Sierra Club, and …

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GOP Will Filibuster the PACE Bill, Unless…

A prediction: the Republicans will filibuster Mike Thompson’s bill concerning PACE once it gets to the Senate. At this point, the Republicans (led by Senator Mitch McConnell, pictured right) are simply uninterested in principles or policy. That’s particular true in the shadow of the upcoming midterms: stopping the bill will simply be another way to …

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Climate policy is changing rapidly. Stay in the loop with expert analysis via email Monday - Friday.

Reflections on “Yes they can control the weather.”

Marjorie Taylor Greene is wildly wrong about government scientists controlling hurricanes. There is a rich history of weather modification experiments that make that false claim more dangerous.

The Dangerous Hypocrisy of Elon Musk

Tesla CEO Elon Musk wants to slash government and regulations for a Trump administration—even though California regulations helped build his companies.

The Morning After

Given Trump’s victory, what can be done to save the planet?

California Must Not Abandon its Climate Leadership

California’s Low Carbon Fuel Standard has been successful. CARB should update the program without undermining its fundamental features.

NEPA in the Supreme Court (Part I)

A pending case could mean radical retrenchment of a foundational environmental law.

Model Uncertainty in Politics and Climate Policy

The polls could be systematically off, not just due to random error. That’s a worry with climate models as well.

Still Crazy After All These Years

There’s been an alarming growth of conspiracy theories, often antisemitic ones, to explain extreme weather events.

We Need a Circular Economy for EV Batteries

California got close to making suppliers ensure EV batteries are managed responsibly at end of life. Here’s why 2025 should be the year California creates a circular economy for EV batteries.

The Dangerous Embrace of Convenient Narratives Over Inconvenient Truths

As it turns out, Nature doesn’t care what stories you post on social media or spin on TV.

New Environmental Laws Focus on Public Health

Many of the environmental-focused bills that the governor signed this year involve ways to alleviate the health disparities faced by frontline communities.

FHFA

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Climate policy is changing rapidly. Stay in the loop with expert analysis via email Monday - Friday.

TRENDING

The Burden on Ratepayers Is Not Sustainable

Select mechanisms can help ensure that energy projects deliver meaningful benefits for California communities

New Trump administration policies will impact the energy industry, but maybe not in the ways Trump supporters expect, writes Guest Contributor Allan Marks.

New CLEE report examines a prerequisite for fair and effective water markets

Understanding how causation applies for NEPA reviews.

Our guide to understanding how causation applies for NEPA reviews.

Governor Newsom has called a special session for December 2nd. How can California lawmakers ensure California’s climate and environmental progress in the years ahead?

Here’s why the Supreme Court should reject radical arguments for limiting environmental impact statements.

A pending case could mean radical retrenchment of a foundational environmental law.

Strategies for embedding community input in project design.

Marjorie Taylor Greene is wildly wrong about government scientists controlling hurricanes. There is a rich history of weather modification experiments that make that false claim more dangerous.

Tesla CEO Elon Musk wants to slash government and regulations for a Trump administration—even though California regulations helped build his companies.

Given Trump’s victory, what can be done to save the planet?

California’s Low Carbon Fuel Standard has been successful. CARB should update the program without undermining its fundamental features.

A pending case could mean radical retrenchment of a foundational environmental law.

The polls could be systematically off, not just due to random error. That’s a worry with climate models as well.

There’s been an alarming growth of conspiracy theories, often antisemitic ones, to explain extreme weather events.

California got close to making suppliers ensure EV batteries are managed responsibly at end of life. Here’s why 2025 should be the year California creates a circular economy for EV batteries.

As it turns out, Nature doesn’t care what stories you post on social media or spin on TV.

Many of the environmental-focused bills that the governor signed this year involve ways to alleviate the health disparities faced by frontline communities.