Biden-Harris Admin Launches $20B Grant Competitions for Clean Financing Network
WASHINGTON D.C. (July 14, 2023) — Today, in a significant stride toward realizing President Biden’s Investing in America Agenda and environmental justice targets, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) initiated two Notices of Funding Opportunity (NOFOs). These represent an unprecedented $20 billion in funding across two competitive grant schemes under the historic Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund, a vital component of the Inflation Reduction Act.
The key objective of these competitive grant programs is to galvanize private sector investments into clean technology ventures. This aims to generate high-quality employment opportunities and minimize energy costs for American households, with particular attention to low-income and disadvantaged communities. These initiatives are expected to curb detrimental pollution, protect public health, and address the looming climate crisis.
Prominent figures like EPA Administrator Michael S. Regan, Vice President Kamala Harris, Senator Tom Carper (DE), Senator Ed Markey (MA), Senator Chris Van Hollen (MD), Congressman Frank Pallone (NJ-06), and Congressman David Trone (MD-06) will come together today at Coppin State University, Baltimore, Maryland. The agenda includes a briefing from local climate leaders and speeches.
Vice President Kamala Harris stated, “The President and I have set ambitious targets to halve our greenhouse gas emissions by 2030 and achieve net-zero emissions by 2050. The investments announced today are a significant stride towards realizing these objectives, paving the way for a cleaner, healthier future for future generations. With this initiative, we are empowering students, small business owners, and community leaders to turn their innovative ideas into reality, fostering a clean energy transition, creating quality jobs, and building an inclusive clean energy economy.”
EPA Administrator Michael S. Regan added, “Communities at the frontline of the climate crisis will be the primary beneficiaries of President Biden’s historic investments in the clean economy. The Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund will encourage private sector investments in clean technology projects and boost economic opportunities for those communities that have been marginalized. It’s also for families seeking lower energy costs and workers in need of good-paying jobs. This embodies the essence of President Biden’s Investing in America agenda.”
The $14 billion National Clean Investment Fund aims to offer grants to support two-to-three national clean financing institutions. These will partner with the private sector to deliver accessible, affordable financing for numerous clean technology projects nationwide.
On the other hand, the $6 billion Clean Communities Investment Accelerator will provide grants to support two-to-seven hub nonprofit organizations. They will help public, quasi-public, not-for-profit, and non-profit community lenders operating in low-income and disadvantaged communities to finance clean technology projects.
These initiatives under the Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund will aid in achieving the President’s climate targets of reducing greenhouse gas emissions 50-52 percent below 2005 levels by 2030 and achieving net-zero emissions by 2050. They also advance the President’s commitment to environmental justice and the Justice40 Initiative, ensuring a minimum of $18.6 billion of the $27 billion across the Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund is dedicated to low-income and disadvantaged communities.
The investments are enabled by President Biden’s Investing in America agenda, which aims to stimulate the American economy from the middle out and the bottom up – revitalizing national infrastructure, prompting over $500 billion in private sector manufacturing and clean energy investments in the United States, creating quality jobs and building a clean-energy economy to tackle climate change and enhance community resilience.
