‘A novel approach.’ Kamala Harris announces billions in clean energy grants in Charlotte, NC

Vice President Kamala Harris on Thursday announced $20 billion in grants for clean energy projects during a visit to Charlotte.

The funds will come from the Environmental Protection Agency’s Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund, a $27 billion program established through the Inflation Reduction Act, according to a statement from the White House. Much of the work will be done in “low-income and disadvantaged communities,” the White House said, and is aimed at “catalyzing public and private capital” for eco-friendly projects.

“Everyone will benefit,” Harris said to a crowd gathered at the Naomi Drenan Center.

EPA Administrator Michael Regan, who joined Gov. Roy Cooper, Mayor Vi Lyles and U.S. Rep. Alma Adams at the grant announcement, called the funding a “oncein-a-lifetime investment.”

Harris’s visit was her second to North Carolina in as many weeks and her second to Charlotte this year. She also marked the opening of a Biden-harris campaign office in Charlotte, one of 10 launching in the battleground state, and visited a homeowner in the Grier Heights neighborhood.

WHERE GRANT MONEY IS GOING

The grant money announced Thursday will be split between eight applicants that are part of one of two programs: the $14 billion National Clean Investment Fund and the $6 billion Clean Communities Investment Accelerator.

“Together, the two programs will create a first-ofits-kind national network of mission-driven, community-led financial institutions that will finance climate and clean energy projects across the country, especially in lowincome and disadvantaged communities,” the White House’s statement said. The eight projects include:

Ƈ $6.97 billion for Climate United Fund

Ƈ $5 billion for Coalition for Green Capital

Ƈ $2 billion for Power Forward Communities

Ƈ $2.29 billion for Opportunity Finance Network

Ƈ $1.87 billion for Inclusiv

Ƈ $400 million for Native CDFI Network

Ƈ $940 million for Justice Climate Fund

Ƈ $500 million for Appalachian Community Capital

Harris said giving the money directly to nonprofits will help generate “community-based projects” by directing funding and capital to entrepreneurs.

“This is a novel approach,” she said.