FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
April 22, 2024
CONTACT
Carter Dougherty
carter@ourfinancialsecurity.org
EPA’s $27 Billion Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund will Kick Start Green Investment in Low-Income and Disadvantaged Communities
WASHINGTON, D.C. — The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced its final program of the Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund (GGRF): Solar for All. Sixty recipients will be awarded $7 billion, with funds expected to roll out late this summer.
“GGRF programs are now one step closer to deploying much needed grants and financing for green projects that will create health and economic benefits for low-income and disadvantaged communities and help mitigate U.S. greenhouse gas emissions,” said Jessica Garcia, senior policy analyst for climate finance at Americans for Financial Reform Education Fund. “As contracts are finalized, the EPA should continue to press recipients to coordinate efforts and have transparent plans to receive input and feedback, such as community advisory boards, and shared public reporting, like web-based dashboards, that demonstrate positive environmental and social impacts on the ground across communities.”
Solar for All will create new or expand existing low-income residential and community solar programs in all 50 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, and territories, and open up greater access to solar for Tribes through grants and low-cost financing. Twenty-five states and territories will have access to those types of distributed solar programs for the first time. EPA and the Department of Energy will also be launching a joint, nationwide technical assistance program in partnership with all recipients to help communities overcome solar deployment barriers such as siting, permitting, and interconnection.
The EPA previously announced the eight recipients for the two other GGRF programs:
- National Clean Investment Fund: Three recipients were awarded a total of $14 billion to establish national clean financing institutions, with at least 58% of investments promised for low-income and disadvantaged communities.
- Clean Communities Investment Accelerator: Five recipients were awarded a total of $6 billion to provide funding and technical assistance hubs to community lenders already working in low-income and disadvantaged communities and build capacity for additional community lenders to finance green projects for years to come.
As the three GGRF programs roll out, AFREF looks forward to reviewing accessible public information from recipients and the EPA on the communities those dollars will be serving. We urge that the EPA ensure that not only is the goal met of at least $15 billion benefitting low-income and disadvantaged communities from the initial $27 billion, but that those communities are prioritized year after year.
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