The City of Ann Arbor's new program offering funds to business owners looking to make energy efficiency upgrades on their properties is off to a slow start, but the administrator is expecting things to pick up as soon as this week.

AnnArbor.com file photo

The Property Assessed Clean Energy program gives commercial property owners a special financing mechanism to help undertake energy efficiency and renewable energy projects.

Program administrator Wendy Barrott will be giving a presentation at today's Ann Arbor City Council meeting at 7 p.m. to give council members an update on the status of the program

Barrott said she is expecting four applications totaling $700,000, one totaling $14,000 and one for $60,000 by the end of this week.

“I have one in my hand and I have five more that are very close to coming in and they may come in at the end of the week,” Barrott said.

Officials said the program will make an estimated $4 million available to property owners in its first phase.

Former Michigan Governor Jennifer Granholm signed House Bill 5640 into law in December of 2010, giving local governments authorities to issue revenue bonds to pay for upgrades on private property.

The city council unanimously approved the program in 2011.

The program allows qualifying property owners to borrow money for efficiency projects ranging from $10,000 to $350,000 and pay back the loans through special assessments added onto their tax bills for up to 10 years.

Work that falls under the following categories are acceptable:

• Energy analyses
• Insulation, weather sealing
• Lighting
• Heating, ventilation and air conditioning
• Energy Star appliances
• Doors and windows
• Cool roofs
• Solar photovoltaic, thermal and water systems
• Geothermal
• Combined heat and power systems
• Biomass thermal

Barrott said she's had 24 property owners contact her for pre-screenings and of that number, some did not make it to the next step.

“Several fell out because they were too small or the cash flow didn’t look good,” she said.

Barrott said she believes it’s taking awhile for the program to gain momentum because it’s a relatively new concept. She said owners have expressed that it takes time to scope new projects with other priorities already in place. Barrott said this is "true for any energy efficiency project."

“Putting a lien, a voluntary lien, on your property is new and it takes time to get the word out,” she said. “Companies today run really lean on their inside sources and everyone is really busy and it takes time for a person to get an audit accomplished.”

Barrott said the program has been “favorably received” by business owners.

“I can honestly say businesses are very interested,” Barrott said. “I’ve had 30 one-on-one meetings and I can say 85 percent of them are really interested in the program. It’s starting to get traction.”