Biden administration officials have announced winners of $4.3 billion in Inflation Reduction Act funding for community-based initiatives set to cut greenhouse gas emissions.
The 25 selected grantees were selected from a pool of 300 U.S. applications, with federal officials noting on a July 19 press call that the program generated significant interest. “It was a highly competitive process,” said U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Michael Regan.
Grant recipients, some of them coalitions of different regional entities, will fund projects that seek to address improved air quality and reduced greenhouse gas emissions in a variety of ways—from electrifying transit and transportation infrastructure to improving energy efficiency in buildings to reducing methane emissions.
Funded projects span 30 states and Tribes, and are cumulatively projected to reduce greenhouse gas pollution by an estimated 971 million metric tons by 2050—equivalent to emissions generated by 5 million homes annually over 25 years, Regan said.
The $4.3 billion in awards is the second phase of the $5-billion Climate Reduction Grants program established by the 2022 Inflation Reduction Act. The first phase provided $250 million to help states, local governments, Tribes and territories for efforts to cut pollution and build infrastructure for lower-emitting economies.
John Podesta, senior adviser to President Joe Biden for clean energy innovation and implementation, said the first phase was critical to have "local communities concentrated on what they needed to do to provide clean air and reduce emissions in their local communities.” Many communities involved in the first phase developed climate action plans for the first time, which now cover 96% of the U.S. population, he said, noting that the law's climate pollution reduction grants "empower local solutions to help solve a global problem."
Community Driven
EPA announced the grant recipients July 22 in Pittsburgh where the state Dept. of Environmental Protection received $396 million for the RISE PA program. It seeks to reduce industrial sector GHG emissions through a competitive grants program and incentives for small-, medium- and large-scale decarbonization projects across the state.
Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro (D), who spoke at the event, said funding will strengthen the state’s manufacturing sector. “Here in Pennsylvania, we understand that reducing pollution means creating jobs,” he said, adding, “We want to make sure business owners we have heard from time and time again have the resources they need to reduce pollution in the communities where they live and work … They want to make their operations more sustainable and energy efficient.”
Another grant recipient was the Clean Corridor Coalition, led by the New Jersey Dept. of Environmental Protection, which will receive nearly $250 million to develop electric truck charging infrastructure, as well as fund job training and regional planning.
In a statement, state Commissioner of Environmental Protection Shawn LaTourette said the award will serve as “a critical down payment for zero-emission freight movement and will catalyze the deployment of zero-emission freight trucks in the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic region and beyond.”
Other states participating in the coalition include Maryland, Connecticut and Delaware.
Jeremy Tarr, U.S. State Policy Director at the non-partisan Clean Air Task Force, says funding will continue to drive innovation in technologies to reduce greenhouse gas emissions across multiple sectors, including transportation, buildings and energy. "Already the program has spurred unprecedented climate planning over the past year in states, Tribes, and local governments,” he said in a statement.
The administration plans to release another $300 million later this year geared to Tribal efforts to reduce climate emissions.
