Lafayette, CO—Colorado C-PACE announced today that Box Canyon Lodge & Hot Springs will leverage CO C-PACE financing to support a 58 kW solar PV system installation on their 18,386 SF hotel and lodging facility located at 45 3^rd Avenue in Ouray. This is the first C-PACE project for Ouray County.

Rich Avery, owner of Box Canyon Lodge, has installed many energy efficiency measures over the years, earning his facility a coveted 4 Green Key rating which is awarded to hotels that have made a strong commitment to protecting the environment. “Given we are surrounded by the amazing natural beauty of the San Juan Mountains, it would be a sin not to do everything we can to reduce our environmental footprint,” said Avery. “Solar energy is the next step in our commitment to making Box Canyon Lodge as eco-friendly as possible.”

“Ouray county is excited to have our first C-PACE project, and thrilled that it’s being used for a renewable energy system on a lodge that’s been part of our community for such a long time,” said Heidi Pankow, Director of Industry, Media and Consumer Engagement, Ouray Tourism Office. She continued, “Ouray has so many unique things to offer and we are happy for Rich and the team at Box Canyon Lodge for being able to take advantage of such a great program and further drive our message of sustainability for our community and for our visitors.”

Alternative Power Enterprises, a solar power provider based in Ridgway, was retained by Avery to perform the savings analysis and design/install the roof-mounted solar array. Josh Shipley, General Manager of Alternative Power Enterprises, said that their analysis “showed a projected cost savings of more than $500,000 over the effective useful life of the equipment including tax benefits and grants. That means the solar array will pay for itself in short order.”

Shipley added that this is their first C-PACE project. “We were impressed with how smoothly C-PACE financing worked and will definitely promote C-PACE financing to more of our clients.”

Avery used the C-PACE program’s unique capital provider open market selection process to shop around for the lowest rate. After reviewing multiple bids, he settled on employee-owned Alpine Bank for the project’s approximate $165,000 in financing.

Dennis Alexander, Alpine Bank’s Senior Vice President of Ouray County, said that “as a community bank, it is our mission to invest in local businesses, which, in turn, will spur the growth of the communities we serve. C-PACE, which is designed to motivate owners and developers to embrace environmental concerns, absolutely lines up with our core values. We are thrilled to help Box Canyon Lodge with their ongoing effort to reduce their carbon footprint.”

About Colorado C-PACE

A program of the New Energy Improvement District (NEID), administered by Sustainable Real Estate Solutions, Colorado C-PACE facilitates financing for energy and water improvements in new and existing commercial buildings, including new heating/cooling systems, lighting, water pumps, insulation, and renewable energy projects. C-PACE offers long-term financing that covers 100 percent of the project cost and is repaid over a period of up to 25 years. The payments are structured as a regular line item on the property tax bill. When a property is sold, the C-PACE assessment can stay with the property and transfer to the new owner, who enjoys the ongoing utility cost savings associated with the project.

About SRS

Sustainable Real Estate Solutions (SRS) partners with state and local governments to administer commercial property assessed clean energy (C-PACE) programs. Founded in 2010 by experienced commercial real estate and energy efficiency professionals, the company’s proprietary technology-enabled PACEworx™ Platform streamlines the management of the data-intensive C-PACE technical and financial underwriting process. SRS’s Investor Confidence Project-credentialed quality assurance methodology has facilitated more than $255 million in C-PACE financing nationwide. SRS empowers C-PACE public-private partnerships across the country. The company is based in Trumbull, Connecticut.

About Alpine Bank

Employee-owned and locally operated, Alpine Bank has been a part of Colorado since 1973. With 40 convenient locations from Durango to Denver. Since 2006, Alpine Bank has earned and maintains certification to the ISO 14001 standard—the universally recognized standard for environmental management. Receiving this certification verifies to our community and business partners that we have an effective environmental policy in place and that we are continuously improving our environmental practices. In 2014, ColoradoBiz magazine named Alpine Bank as one of the 50 greenest organizations in the state. In addition, in 2016, Alpine Bank was inducted into the International Green Industry Hall of Fame. Alpine Bank is a registered Commercial Property Assessed Clean Energy (C-PACE) capital provider.