Jim Downing, Sacramento Bee

Local governments throughout the Sacramento region are moving quickly on plans that should make it easier for homeowners and businesses to finance energy-efficiency and renewable-energy investments.

Assembly Bill 811, signed into law last year, authorizes cities and counties to issue loans for energy-related improvements, with the payments wrapped into a parcel's property-tax bill and spread over many years.

That arrangement is designed to encourage investments in green upgrades from double-pane windows to efficient air conditioners that have high upfront costs but deliver savings over a long period. By tying the loan repayment to property tax assessments, the debt on an efficiency improvement passes to the new owner if the home or building is sold. And that, advocates say, should lower a key barrier to energy-saving investments.

"How many of us would have a cellular phone if you had to buy 20 years of minutes up front?" said Cisco DeVries, president of Oakland-based Renewable Funding. DeVries helped design AB 811, and his firm now advises local governments that want to implement the programs authorized by the bill.

The Sacramento County Board of Supervisors and the Sacramento City Council are both expected to give a preliminary go-ahead today to AB 811 programs. If approved, city and county staff would over the next three months fill in details of the program, including the source of funding for the loans, the interest rate and eligibility. Loans could be available early next year.

Placer County and the city of Davis are moving ahead on AB 811 programs, while Yolo County and El Dorado County are considering them. Cities and counties around the region may ultimately merge their programs to cut administrative costs.

Local governments are hustling to get the programs started in part so they can qualify for energy funding that's coming to the state from the federal economic-stimulus package. Local governments in California that have an AB 811 program under way can apply this fall for a share of roughly $30 million in federal money to support the loan program.

The region's local governments expect their AB 811 programs to be largely or entirely self-supporting, with costs covered by interest payments on the loans.

Placer County appears to have the most fully formed funding plan, with a proposal set for review by county supervisors next week. County Treasurer-Tax Collector Jenine Windeshausen will propose to use about $33 million of the county treasury's roughly $1 billion in deposits to fund the first round of loans. The county would otherwise invest the money on Wall Street to earn a return, as a bank would, Windeshausen said.

Other cities and counties are considering a range of options to finance the program. Bond funding is expensive for local governments, so they are looking for alternatives. DeVries' firm is working on a statewide program that would allow a large group of cities and counties to seek bond funding collectively, which should reduce costs.

Local contractors and solar-panel installers have been eagerly awaiting the launch of the AB 811 programs, which they expect will boost business.

"There are people out there who want to upgrade their buildings, but they can't get financing," said Rick Wylie, president of Sacramento's Beutler Corp.

AB 811 "will get the (efficiency) benefits coming through the pipe, and it'll put people to work."