On the 2-year anniversary of the Inflation Reduction Act, award recipients can now begin accessing funds to mobilize financing for thousands of climate and clean energy projects
WASHINGTON – Today, Aug. 16, on the second anniversary of the signing of the Inflation Reduction Act, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency announced that it has obligated $27 billion in grants under three competitions to Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund recipients as part of the Biden-Harris Administration Investing in America agenda. Together, the grant recipients receiving funds under EPA’s $14 billion National Clean Investment Fund (NCIF), the $6 billion Clean Communities Investment Accelerator (CCIA), and the $7 billion Solar for All program will create a national financing network for clean energy and climate solutions across the country. Since they were selected in April, recipients have worked directly with EPA to fulfill federal requirements and revise their workplans in order to receive their grants. With funds now accessible to the recipients, programs that give communities access to the resources and investment capital to build cleaner, more sustainable economies can begin being implemented.
EPA’s historic $27 billion Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund has been made possible by President Biden and Vice President Harris’ Inflation Reduction Act, which is the largest climate investment in history. Since the legislation was signed into law on August 16, 2022, EPA has obligated more than $28.8 billion in Inflation Reduction Act funding in total, including the Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund, and is on track to obligate nearly $38.3 billion in total from this historic investment by the end of the calendar year. EPA has ensured these federal investments deliver on the law’s promise to dramatically reduce emissions, build a clean economy, lower energy costs for American households and businesses, create good-paying jobs, and advance environmental justice.
“With climate impacts increasingly impacting all Americans, and especially those in communities that have been historically left behind, EPA knew it had to move swiftly and deliberately to get this historic funding out the door,” said EPA Administrator Michael S. Regan. “Two years after he signed the law, President Biden is delivering the full $27 billion that he secured in this legislation. American families will soon feel the benefits in the form of lower energy costs and revitalized communities, while the United States leads the clean energy economy of the future.”
With funds now in hand, NCIF recipients can begin delivering accessible, affordable financing for clean technology projects in communities across the country. CCIA recipients can begin providing funding and technical assistance to community lenders working in low-income and disadvantaged communities. Solar for All recipients can soon begin expanding existing solar programs for low-income and disadvantaged communities and launching new ones, which will collectively deliver residential solar to over 900,000 low-income households nationwide. Solar for All recipients will spend the next few months working with EPA to finalize their program workplans and budgets and will then begin implementing their programs and funding projects, starting in early 2025.
Together, the NCIF, CCIA, and Solar for All programs will advance the Biden-Harris Administration’s Justice40 Initiative, which aims to ensure 40% of the overall benefits of certain climate, clean energy, and other federal investments flow to disadvantaged communities that are marginalized by underinvestment and overburdened by pollution. Solar for All recipients will invest 100% of program funds in low-income and disadvantaged communities. NCIF and CCIA recipients will dedicate over $14 billion of program funds toward low-income and disadvantaged communities — including over $4 billion for rural communities as well as almost $1.5 billion for Tribal communities — ensuring that program benefits flow to the communities most in need and advance the President’s Justice40 Initiative.
All entities with eligible projects that are interested in applying for funds from or working with an NCIF, CCIA, or Solar for All recipient should contact their relevant recipient directly to learn more about potential opportunities and their program timelines. Learn more about the Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund and its grant recipients on EPA’s Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund webpage. Information and registration details for upcoming public webinars that will provide updates on the Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund programs are posted on the Engagement Opportunities webpage.
In addition to the agency’s Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund, EPA has fully obligated awards for several additional Inflation Reduction Act programs, including the Methane Emission Reduction Program, Climate Pollution Reduction Grant planning, and various environmental justice, clean air monitoring, and carbon labeling programs. Learn more about EPA’s Inflation Reduction Act Programs.
