(CN) — The Biden administration has awarded $20 billion for clean energy projects aimed at lowering energy costs across the country.
The money comes from the EPA’s Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund, a $27 billion program known as a green bank, created under the Inflation Reduction Act.
Vice President Kamala Harris, speaking at an event in North Carolina, said the money will provide needed assistance to people lacking the capital necessary for projects like installing electric vehicle chargers in the community or solar on residential rooftops.
“This is actually the first time we have taken this approach because we know that we have the capacity with this approach to empower communities to decide which projects they want that will have the greatest impact from their perspective in the place they call home,” she said. “Then we can invest in those projects in a way that will actually have value for the people who live there instead of us from Washington, D.C., telling you what you need.”
More than 70% of the funds will go to projects in disadvantaged and underserved communities.
Selected projects include clean power generation, retrofits of homes and small businesses and zero-emission transportation. Collectively, the projects are expected to reduce carbon pollution by 40 million metric tons over the next seven years.
The eight grant recipients will use the funds primarily to support local projects, leveraging an estimated $150 billion in private capital.
“With their help and their leadership, EPA is creating a first of its kind national network of community-led financial institutions that will support climate and clean energy projects, especially in communities that need it the most,” Michael Regan, administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency, said of the recipients.
The government used two avenues to distribute the money: $14 billion through the National Clean Investment Fund and $6 billion through the Clean Communities Investment Accelerator.
The largest award is $6.97 billion for Climate United Fund, a nonprofit formed by Maryland-based Calvert Impact that will invest in projects for consumers, small businesses, small farms, community facilities and schools.
The Coalition for Green Capital — a Washington, D.C.-based nonprofit that partners with state, local and nonprofit green banks to finance clean energy projects — received $5 billion, the next-largest grant.
The organization said it already has more than $30 billion in demand for its funding.
“The United States now can lead all nations in showing how public-private investment can deliver cheap clean power faster than anyone has predicted — and can focus this new investment primarily on transforming the power platform in every low-income and disadvantaged community,” said Reed Hundt, the coalition’s co-founder and CEO.
The Montgomery County Green Bank in Maryland said it will receive some of the funding awarded to The Coalition for Green Capital.
“With these grant funds, we are excited to amplify climate and equity impacts in Montgomery County, as well as with our partners throughout Maryland,” the bank’s CEO, Stephen Morel, said in a press release. “Together, Maryland will make significant strides in decarbonizing buildings, expanding clean energy, and propelling zero-emissions transportation.”
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