C-PACE (Commercial Property Assessed Clean Energy) financing is gaining momentum as a powerful tool in the commercial real estate sector, offering property owners and developers flexible, cost-effective financing for new developments, major rehabilitations, or recapitalizations of projects completed within the last three years in most states. Its attractive terms are driving adoption across diverse asset classes, with significant potential to support the booming data center market. 

As data center demand skyrockets, driven by AI workloads and digital infrastructure growth, C-PACE is uniquely positioned to finance energy-efficient upgrades critical for these facilities. Eligible measures include high-efficiency plumbing, HVAC systems, advanced lighting, and cutting-edge heating and cooling technologies, which help data centers reduce operational costs and meet sustainability goals. 

C-PACE financing, repaid through property tax assessments, offers non-recourse, fixed-rate loans with terms up to 30 years, making it a compelling alternative to traditional lending. By aligning with the urgent need for energy-efficient infrastructure, C-PACE is poised to play a pivotal role in shaping the future of commercial real estate and supporting the data center sector’s rapid expansion. 

Jonathan Kloos, Nuveen Green Capital’s Senior Director, Lender Partnerships & New Products discussed the significance of C-PACE financing for the CRE industry, how it benefits the data center asset class, which projects are best suited for financing, and more.   

CM: What is C-PACE financing, and why is it significant for the commercial real estate industry?  

JK: C-PACE (Commercial Property Assessed Clean Energy) financing is a rapidly growing financing solution that provides one of the least expensive forms of commercial real estate capital. C-PACE reduces property owners’ annual costs and provides dramatically better-than-market financing for green new construction, while facilitating sustainability efforts.  

With C-PACE’s flexible terms, it can be deployed to finance projects pre-, mid-, or post- construction. This flexibility has led numerous sponsors to turn to it as a stable, accretive form of financing. As a result, the industry reached nearly $10 billion in cumulative originations as of the end of last year. Nuveen Green Capital (NGC) is proud to have provided nearly 50% of the total originations in 2024.  

CM: How does C-PACE benefit the data center asset class, and why is this relevant given current market trends?  

JK: The increased need for data and rise of AI are causing a surge in the development of data centers as a rapidly growing asset class. Because data centers consume a lot of electricity, have very high cooling requirements, and are generally expensive to build, C-PACE not only lowers the overall cost of these projects, but also helps offset their energy footprint. NGC has funded building envelope upgrades, lighting, insulation, and high efficiency cooling systems to maximize onsite energy efficiency across this energy-intensive asset class. 

Because C-PACE can often provide financing at a lower rate than other available options, data center owners and developers are becoming increasingly aware of it as a cost-efficient option to finance new projects, or to refinance mid-stream. In the case of iM Critical Data Center, NGC was able to recapitalize the project mid-construction through $32.6 million in C-PACE financing. By leveraging C-PACE, iM was able to secure favorable financing terms, ultimately enabling the project’s completion. The inclusion of C-PACE in the project’s capitalization showcases its potential to fund future-forward projects and incentivize property owners to develop real estate responsibly, prioritizing energy and water efficiency and resiliency in their developments. 

CM: How can data center developers get started with financing?  

JK: To get started with C-PACE, data center owners and developers can contact me at [email protected]. NGC’s expert teams, based in every major MSA across the U.S., are well-versed in navigating C-PACE for data centers, and all asset classes — and the firm handles the C-PACE financing process entirely in-house from start to finish. 

CM: What types of projects are best suited for financing?  

JK: While C-PACE can finance the full gamut (including recapitalizations) of data center projects, ground up projects are ideal, particularly for those employing green energy production. 

CM: How does the repayment structure work for data center owners?  

JK: The C-PACE repayment structure is the same as it would be for any other project. We offer a long-term (between 20 and 30 years), provide for an interest only period, and the principal amortizes over the remaining term. 

CM: How does financing impact the financial structure of a data center project, as seen in the iM Critical Miami Data Center case?  

JK: C-PACE meaningfully reduces a sponsor’s weighted average cost of capital. By leveraging C-PACE in the financial structure of a data center project, Sponsors can realize short- and long-term savings from an energy efficiency perspective, as well as their overall cost of capital. 

CM: How scalable is financing for the data center industry as demand grows?  

JK: C-PACE is immensely scalable to address the growing data center demand, and we anticipate financing several more projects this year.  

CM: What specific energy-efficient improvements eligible for C-PACE financing are most relevant to data centers?  

JK: Data centers are a highly energy intensive asset class with constant operation and significant utility expenditure. C-PACE can fund any measure that improves the building’s energy and water performance, as well as resiliency. 

CM: What are the risks and limitations of financing for data centers in the current economic climate? 

JK: While the data center industry is growing so rapidly and project sizes are large by CRE standards, many lenders are unable to write the large checks that enable these projects to be efficiently capitalized. Working with a lender like NGC, who is able to provide scalable capital, dramatically increases a Sponsor’s likelihood of success.  

CM: What is the outlook for C-PACE in the data center market?  

JK: The outlook is very strong for C-PACE in the data center market, as well as across all asset classes of commercial real estate. With persisting economic uncertainty, paired with a capital constrained marketplace, we anticipate continued and increased demand for C-PACE as a CRE financing solution, particularly in the data center space.