The United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has awarded $20 billion in grants to nonprofits and community members dedicated to combating climate change in underserved communities. The federal grants are expected to fund numerous clean energy funds, including work with the Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund, the National Clean Investment Fund program, and the Clean Communities Investment Accelerator.
Providing clean energy funding to those living in underserved and low-income communities helps support the local economy while protecting the air, soil, and water for all. Additionally, the projects will help taxpayers save money and reduce their carbon footprints.
“These two programs under the Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund are game-changing. They advance clean energy financing and solutions which will directly benefit communities and organizations that were previously left out of the renewable energy transition,” Lisa F. Garcia, EPA regional administrator, said in an April press release.
“The $20 billion going to these eight recipients illustrates how the Inflation Reduction Act is investing today to secure a cleaner, healthier planet for tomorrow.”
Photo Courtesy EPA
The grants are funding various projects, from electric vehicle (EV) charging stations to residential heat pumps.
One successful example is the National Trust Community Investment Corporation and Appalachian Community Capital, which recently partnered on a nearly $6 million rehab of the Owosso, Michigan’s National Guard Armory building. Teaming up with the Shiawassee Chamber of Commerce, the organization helped transform the space into an incubator for Owosso’s small businesses and local nonprofits, complete with high-efficiency, all-electric heating and ENERGY STAR certified appliances.
The Inflation Reduction Act created the green bank that oversees the grants.
Formally known as the Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund, the $27 billion bank is one of many federal efforts to invest in solutions that cut planet-warming greenhouse gas emissions and address human-caused climate change.
Overall, the funding hopes to reduce air and climate pollution while mobilizing capital in overlooked communities that need it the most.
Monies have been distributed far and wide, including $14 billion through the National Clean Investment Fund program, which granted federal resources to three nonprofits that will partner with states and the private sector to provide affordable financing for projects nationwide. Likewise, the Clean Communities Investment Accelerator granted $6 million to five institutions that will work with other groups to establish hubs that make funding and technical assistance accessible to community lenders.
Photo Courtesy EPA
“We’re putting an unprecedented $20 billion to work in communities that for too long have been shut out of resources to lower costs and benefit from clean technology solutions,” Michael S. Regan, EPA administrator, said in a statement. “[These projects] will deliver transformational investments for American communities, businesses, and families and unleash tens of thousands of clean technology projects like putting solar on small businesses, electrifying affordable housing, providing EV loans for young families, and countless others. That translates to good-paying jobs, energy bill savings, and cleaner air, all while delivering on [the current administration’s] agenda to combat climate change.”
