ADMINISTRATION MAKING $20B AVAILABLE FOR CLEAN ENERGY PROJECTS

Federal ‘green bank,’ created last year, will oversee programs

The Biden administration said Friday it is making available $20 billion from a federal “green bank” for clean energy projects such as residential heat pumps, electric vehicle charging stations and community cooling centers.

Two programs, worth $14 billion and $6 billion, respectively, will offer competitive grants to nonprofits, community development banks and other groups to invest in clean energy projects, with a focus on disadvantaged communities, the White House said. The investments follow a $7 billion Solar for All program launched last month 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 climate law.

Vice President Kamala Harris called the grant programs announced Friday “the largest investment in financing for communitybased climate projects in our nation’s history,” adding: “It’s a good day.”

Speaking at Coppin State University, a historically black university in Baltimore, Harris said green bank investments would “dramatically accelerate” work to lower planet-warming greenhouse gas emissions while boosting tens of thousands of climate and clean energy projects across America.

The federal investments mean that developers who build affordable housing in cities such as Baltimore “will now have the capital they need to install energy-efficient appliances in new units, to lower energy use and help tenants save on their electric bills,” Harris said. Small business owners also will be able to receive zero-interest loans to purchase electric delivery trucks, reducing pollution and saving on gas, she said.

“When we invest in clean energy and electric vehicles, more of our children can breathe clean air and drink clean water,” she said. “When we help folks upgrade their heating and cooling systems, we lower the cost of electricity, so working parents have more money for groceries and home repairs and school supplies. And think of all the jobs these investments will create.”

Applications under the program are due this fall, with grant awards expected next year.

The $14 billion National Clean Investment Fund will provide grants to up to three national clean financing institutions, enabling them to partner with states and the private sector to provide affordable financing for tens of thousands of clean technology projects nationwide, the Environmental Protection Agency said.

The $6 billion Clean Communities Investment Accelerator, meanwhile, will provide grants for up to seven nonprofits that will work with other groups to provide access to investments needed to deploy clean technology projects. Hundreds of community lenders, credit unions, housing finance agencies and other institutions will finance clean technology projects in low-income and disadvantaged communities, the EPA said.