Sonoma County Energy Independence Program to phase out loans for residential property owners

A Sonoma County program that helps homeowners pay for improvements that utilize energy and water more efficiently and hardens buildings against wildfires and earthquakes, is being phased out amid new federal requirements.

The Sonoma County Energy Independence Program, which allows residential property owners to finance improvements over a term of 10 or 20 years with no upfront costs and repay with interest through property tax assessments, is ending on March 1, 2026. The commercial property portion of SCEIP, which is not subject to new federal rules, will continue operating.

“We have looked at the numbers and, unfortunately, implementing the new residential requirements would be fiscally unsustainable,” said Supervisor Lynda Hopkins, chair of the Sonoma County Board of Supervisors. “Accordingly, we will need to phase out the residential portion of SCEIP and focus on the commercial side.”

The federal Consumer Financial Protection Bureau adopted the new regulations that require SCEIP to comply with federal underwriting standards applicable to residential mortgage loans, including verifying a property owner’s ability to repay by evaluating income, credit history, debt obligations, and employment status. This is a significant departure from the property-based underwriting model that SCEIP has utilized since its inception. During the phase-out, no new residential applications will be accepted after Jan. 12, 2026. Existing contracts will not be impacted.

Launched in 2009, SCEIP offers financing for more than 100 eligible improvements including for energy efficiency, water conservation, renewable power, wildfire safety and seismic strengthening. Examples include the installation of new solar energy systems, roofs, windows, doors, insulation, landscape irrigation systems and electric vehicle chargers.

In the past sixteen years, SCEIP has disbursed more than $112 million to finance improvements to more than 3,200 properties in Sonoma County, the program reported in its update to the Board of Supervisors Tuesday. The improvements, 90 percent of which were completed by local contractors, have eliminated more than 150,000 metric tons of carbon dioxide emissions.

For information about the Sonoma County Energy Independence Program, visit the website.

###
Media Contact:
Matt Brown, Communications Specialist
publicaffairs@sonoma-county.org
(707) 565-3040
575 Administration Drive, Suite 104A
Santa Rosa, CA 95403