A federal “green bank” that will distribute $20 billion for clean energy projects — including initiatives such as retrofitting homes to be energy efficient, building more public EV charging stations, and electrifying small businesses’ delivery fleets — was announced Friday by the Biden administration. The investments follow a $7 billion Solar for All program launched in June for residential and community solar projects in low-income communities.
All three programs will be overseen by the green bank, formally known as the Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund, which Congress created in last year’s Inflation Reduction Act (IRA). The bank will be overseen by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).
The $14 billion National Clean Investment Fund (NCIF) will provide grants to up to three qualified national nonprofits, enabling them to partner with states and the private sector to finance clean technology projects nationwide. Projects should reduce greenhouse gas emissions; address at least two of the following themes (climate change, energy, health, housing, pollution, transportation, water and wastewater, and workforce development); and use commercially available technology. They should also spur private investment and would not otherwise have been financed. Additionally, the EPA has identified three priority project categories: distributed power generation and storage, decarbonization retrofits of existing buildings, and transportation pollution reduction.
The $6 billion Clean Communities Investment Accelerator (CCIA) will provide grants for two to seven nonprofits that will work with other groups — such as community lenders, credit unions, housing finance agencies and other institutions — to provide access to investments needed to deploy clean technology projects in low-income and disadvantaged communities. In addition, the projects should fall under the three priority categories identified in the NCIF.
The green bank is modeled after similar initiatives in California, Connecticut and New York. Applications under the program are due this fall, with grant awards expected next year.
