BIL/IRA Implementation Digest — April 15, 2024

by Joe Cullen

Apr 15, 2024 | BIL/IRA Implementation Digest

Upcoming BIL/IRA Deadlines/Webinars 

April 17, 2024 @ 1:00 PM – 2:30 PM EDT – WEBINAR – IRS Office Hours for Elective Pay and Transferability of Clean Energy Credits – The IRS is holding office hours on the pre-filing registration process for elective payment & transfer of clean energy Tax Credits.

April 17, 2024 @ 2:00 – 3:00 PM EDT – WEBINAR – What’s Next? Overcoming Barriers to the Clean Energy Transition – Climate Xchange webinar on navigating barriers to projects.

April 17, 2024 – Deadline – Applications Due – DOE’s $10.5 billion – GRIP (Grid Resilience & Innovation Partnerships) – Submission Deadline for Full Grid Innovation Program grants.

April 17, 2024 – Deadline – Concept Papers – DOE’s Solar and Wind Interconnection for Future Transmission program – new $10 million in grants available.

April 18, 2024 @ 1:00 PM – 2:30 PM EDT – WEBINAR – Inflation Reduction Act Elective Pay: Learn How to Claim & Receive Payment – This Urban Sustainability Directors Network (USDN) webinar offers local governments & community partners an in-depth exploration of new US Treasury/IRS rules on elective pay, including tax form demos.

April 19, 2024 @ 2:00 PM – 3:00 PM – WEBINAR – White House Council on Environmental Quality – Exec. Order 14096, Revitalizing Our Nation’s Commitment to Environmental Justice for All – 1 Year Anniversary – Register Here.

April 24, 2024 @ 1:00 PM – 2:30 PM EDT – WEBINAR – IRS Office Hours for Elective Pay and Transferability of Clean Energy Credits – April 24, 2024 – IRS office hours on the pre-filing registration process for elective payment & transfer of clean energy credits.

April 25, 2024 @ 3:00-4:00PM – WEBINAR – DOE’s National Community Solar Partnership (NCSP) will hold its second annual update webinar to share progress on the partnership’s impacts in 2023. Join for updates on NCSP’s target to install community solar in 5 million homes by 2025, saving $1 billion in electricity bills for subscribers. Register Here.

April 25, 2024 – Applications Due – US DOT Federal Transit Administration’s (FTA) Low or No Emission and Grants for Buses and Bus Facilities Competitive Programs – Apply for $1.1 Billion in competitive grants under the Low or No Emission Grant Program and $390 Million under the Grants for Buses and Bus Facilities Competitive Program.

April 25, 2024 5:00PM -7:00PM – WEBINAR & Live Event –  Federal Investments in NEPA: Celebrating Wins and Highlighting Opportunities at Luzerne County Community College’s (LCCC) Conference Center – 1333 S Prospect St, Nanticoke, PA – Blue Green Alliance, Conservation Voters of PA, Reimagine Appalachia, PennFuture. Register Here.

April 30, 2024 @ 2:00 PM – 3:00 PM EDT – WEBINAR – Partnering with CBOs to Advance Environmental Justice – This webinar highlights successful strategies for collaboration between community organizations & mayors to advance environmental justice goals.

April 30, 2024 – End of Rolling Award Period – DOE’s $200 million Home EE Contractor Training (TREC) making $200 million available to state energy offices so they can train, test, and certify residential energy efficiency and electrification contractors.

April 30, 2024 – Deadline – Applications Due – DOE’s $530 million Building Codes Competitive Funding grants.

May 2, 2024 @ 1:00 PM – 2:00 PM EDT – WEBINAR – Congressional Progressive Caucus Center (CPCC) Direct Pay Office Hours – The CPCC is holding office hours for eligible entities or anyone interested to drop in and bring their questions about Direct Pay.

May 2, 2024 @ 2:00 PM – 3:00 PM EDT – WEBINAR – Navigating the IRA: EV Tax Credits This Electrification Coalition webinar focuses on private/public collaborations on IRA tax benefits, with a focus on incentives for EV procurement and charging equipment.

May 2, 2024 – Application Deadline – Concept Note for GitLab Foundation’s Green Jobs for Economic Opportunity Fund – This $3 million program supports early-stage and innovative ideas that will help drive new climate careers. Grants are flexible, from $250k for orgs & $500k for partnerships. Full applications due June 14, 2024 – More INFO HERE.

May 13, 2024 10:30AM to 11:30AM EDT – WEBINAR – DOE overview of the new Pathways to Commercial Liftoff: Innovation Grid Deployment Report. Register Here. Download the Full Report Here

May 31, 2024 @ COB – Application Deadline – DOE’s Communities Sparking Investments in Transformative Energy (C-SITE) program – with $18 million for local government clean energy projects that reduce energy use & create local jobs. More DOE C-SITE INFO HERE.

 

New BIL/IRA Implementation Videos

  • Evergreen Action State Program – Press Conference Video – PA DEP April 2, 2024 Event on RISE PA, PA’s $475 million application for funds from EPA’s Climate Pollution Reduction Grant program from the Inter. Union of Painters & Allied Trades District Council 57’s Union Hall in Carnegie, PA – See Full Video Here.

Lowered industrial pollution & increased jobs possible with RISE PA – community, climate groups & union agree – by Bob Batz Jr. April 2, 2024 – Pitts. Union Progress.

 

New Federal BIL/IRA Reports and Announcements

DOE Opens $40M Training for Residential Energy Contractors Program – Eligible applicants: state energy offices. DOE Training for Residential Energy Contractors (TREC) program – A total of $40M is available. DOE anticipates making 10-30 awards of $250k-$5M each.  Letters of intent are due May 9, 2024. Full applications are due July 12, 2024.

DOE announced a $40 million funding opportunity for states to train residential energy contractors. Funded by the President’s Inflation Reduction Act, states can now apply for up to $40 million in competitive grants for the Training for Residential Energy Contractors Program (TREC) to reduce the cost of training, testing, and certifying residential energy efficiency and electrification contractors & help implement the $8.8 billion Home Energy Rebates Programs. More TREC Information Program Here. Letters of intent are due May 9, 2024, and full applications are due July 12, 2024.

US Dept. of Interior Announces More Than $244 Million to Address Legacy Pollution, Revitalize Communities in PA – DOI announced more than $244 million in fiscal year 2023 funding to address dangerous, and polluting abandoned mine lands in coal communities in PA, the largest annual state allocation under BIL’s Abandoned Mine Land Program.

$1.35M for Nanticoke Creek restoration project – by Bill O’Boyle , April 1, 2024 – Times Leader – PA has already received $270 million for abandoned mine land cleanup – including $244 million from the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law.

Coal mining land reclamation project in Luzerne County – More than $1 million will reclaim old coal mining land & used to deploy renewable energy. – WNEP-TV April 1, 2024

Largest solar project in Pa. to be built on former coal mine with $90M federal grant —By Reid Frazier, March 28, 2024 – The Allegheny Front

Feds send $90M to largest state solar project yet — in Clearfield County, By Julie Noal and Jeff Corcino, The Progress, March 22, 2024

Swift Current Energy’s Mineral Basin Solar Project Selected by U.S. Department of Energy to Receive up to $90M Award to Develop Clean Energy Project on Former Mine Land – PITTSBURGH, PA, March 25, 2024

Federal Support Opportunities to Remediate and Redevelop Energy Assets – April 2023

Pacific Northwest National Laboratory – The IRA makes available up to $5 billion in Energy Infrastructure Reinvestment credit subsidies to support up to $250 billion in loan authority, which can aid in the remediation, repurposing, and redevelopment of eligible energy infrastructure sites (such as coal mines & coal power plants).

DOE, the U.S. Dept. of the Treasury, and the Internal Revenue Service announced $4 billion in § 48C tax credits for more than 100 projects across 35 states to accelerate domestic clean energy manufacturing and reduce greenhouse gas emissions at industrial facilities. These $4 Billion in Tax Credits will build clean energy supply chain businesses, drive private investments, & lower costs of projects in Energy Communities that will receive $1.5 billion of these tax credits (and at least $4 billion of the total $10 billion in tax credits) for projects in § 48C energy communities with closed coal mines or coal plants.

DOE Announces $18 Million Towards Clean Energy and Economic Development in 30 Historically Disadvantaged Communities – Thirty selected disadvantaged communities and those with historical ties to fossil fuel industries will receive a total of $18 million worth of technical assistance through the Communities Local Energy Action Program (LEAP) to create community-wide action plans that reduce local air pollution, increase energy resilience, lower utility costs and energy burdens, and create good-paying jobs. Oil City, PA will receive support for clean energy planning, clean transportation planning and incentives for community microgrids and enhanced manufacturing.

DOE Announces $62 Million to Lower Battery Recycling Costs Across the Nation – including 17 BIL funded projects to increase consumer participation in consumer electronics battery recycling and grow and secure America’s battery supply chain.

DOE Invests $22 Million to Improve Siting and Permitting for Large-Scale Renewable Energy and Energy Storage to improve planning, siting, and permitting processes for large-scale renewable energy facilities. Six state-based projects will receive $10 million through the Renewable Energy Siting Through Technical Engagement and Planning (R-STEP) program & will open a second round of up to $12 million in funding.

Federal Funding Driving Manufacturing and Economic Development in Energy Communities Webinar – April 1, 2024 – Energy Communities – Live stream replay of the webinar focused on funding programs at DOE relevant to clean energy manufacturing and economic development.

Energy Equity for Renters – This American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy (ACEEE) program will help 10 Jurisdictions lower utility bills & preserve affordable housing. Energy Equity for Renters is providing technical assistance to the Office of Sustainability of Phila. on how to address energy burdens for tenants in small rental dwellings by improving energy efficiency in rental homes & preserving or expanding affordable housing.

 

Big Ticket/Big Dollar – BIL/IRA Grant Program Recap

EPA’s Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund – April 4, 2024 ($20 Billion Announcement)

EPA’s Next Steps for NCIF & CCIA

Award Finalization Process: April 2024 – June 2024

Future EPA Info at: https://www.epa.gov/greenhouse-gas-reduction-fund

EPA’s Solar for All Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund – Date TBD ($7 Billion)

Pennsylvania Energy Development Authority – Applicant 

Energy Accelerator Program (a/k/a Pennsylvania’s Green Bank)

New Green Bank Report/Resource – An Introduction to the Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund– April 15, 2024 – from Local Infrastructure Hub, Drexel’s Nowak Metro Finance Lab & Accelerator for America. Complete overview and Guide including – How Cities Can Prepare for GGRF Financing. Resources include: An Introduction to the Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund and an analysis of Transformative Project Case Studies.

EPA’s Climate Pollution Reduction Grant (CPRG) Program ($4.6 Billion Grant Program)

RISE PA: An Ambitious Climate Pollution Reduction Grant Application – Press Event.

CPC PA 2024 State Plan & CPRG Alignment – See Analysis Here

New CPRG Report/Resource from RMI/Evergreen – We Read 6,795 Pages of State Climate Plans. Here’s a First Look at What We Found. – April 10, 2024

 

National & Regional BIL/IRA and Related News Clips

China is all in on green tech. The U.S. and Europe fear unfair competition. — By Christian Shepherd, March 29, 2024 – Washington Post – China’s overwhelming dominance has alarmed officials in the United States and in Europe, who say they are worried that a flood of cheap Chinese products will undercut their efforts to grow their own renewable energy industries.

Breakingviews: Next Chinese trade war could benefit the planet – by Hugo Dixon, April 8, 2024 – Reuters (see graphics)

How to Revive a Burned Forest? Rebuild the Tree Supply Chain – By Lydia DePillis, April 4, 2024 – New York Times – As forests succumb to ever-fiercer wildfires, the federal government & adventurous private companies are trying to resuscitate an industry.

Germany’s Solar Panel Industry, Once a Leader, Is Getting Squeezed – By Melissa Eddy, March 25, 2024 – New York Times – Domestic manufacturers are caught between China’s low prices and U.S. protectionist policies, even as demand increases.

New Pollution Rules Aim to Lift Sales of Electric Trucks – By Coral Davenport and Jack Ewing, March 29, 2024 – New York Times – The latest in a string of ambitious climate regulations aims to clean up the heaviest polluters on the road. But truckers are worried.

Biden administration announces $20 billion in clean energy grants – by Sophie Boudreau, April 4, 2024 – The Keystone

Environmental Polling Consortium – Polling Summary – The Inflation Reduction Act / Federal Clean Energy Plan (Mar. 2024)

Nexamp nabs $520M to build community solar across the US – by Eric Wesoff – April 12, 2024 – Canary Media – Community solar helps people who can’t get rooftop solar access the benefits of solar ownership. Nexamp just raised a boatload of money to build more.

Not everyone in the hydrogen business wants to see weaker rules for federal tax credits by Kari Lydersen April 2, 2024 – Energy News Network – Some companies have voiced support for requiring green hydrogen to be produced from new clean energy, contradicting pushback from elsewhere in the industry.

‘Valuable and largely overlooked’: Interest in virtual power plants grows by Robert Zullo, April 9, 2024 – Energy News Network – Multiple states are considering legislation allowing multiple small energy resources to be aggregated as a grid resource.

With federal funds flowing, weatherization industry prepares to fill the gaps – by Kari Lydersen, February 27, 2024 – Energy News Network – Advocates hoping to tap federal funding have looked to the boom and bust that followed 2009’s American Recovery and Reinvestment Act as a cautionary tale to avoid.

Opinion | Why Republicans Will Regret Their Crusade Against Electric Cars – by Mike Murphy, April 7, 2024 – Politico – New polling suggests that stance is a political loser in 2024. The top two states for new investment in EV-related manufacturing plants are Georgia & Michigan. Other critical presidential swing states on the mega-EV investment list are Nevada (fifth in EV manufacturing investment), Arizona (ninth) and North Carolina (seven th). An easy way to look at it: 68 percent of swing state Electoral College votes in November will come from states with very high EV manufacturing investment.

How West Virginia’s Coal Country Could Get a Clean-Energy Makeover – Newsweek – April 4, 2024

Grid interconnection queues jumped 27%, to 2.6 TW, in 2023, led by solar, storage: DOE lab – by Ethan Howland April 11, 2024 – Utility Dive – Solar, battery and wind projects make up 95% of the capacity in interconnection queues, according to the DOE’s Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory.

Mid-Ohio Valley Climate Corner: Transition from exploitation to sustainability – by George Banziger – March 16, 2024 – The exploitation of Appalachia by outsiders goes all the way back to the days of George Washington, who, prior to serving as our first president, surveyed the lands around the Ohio River for development and ownership by the eastern colonists. Then, in the 1800s, as Steven Stool described in his 2017 book, “Ramp Hollow,” outsiders extracted lumber and coal from the Appalachian forests. One of the justifications for this exploitation was the disparagement of the residents of these areas as degenerate, backward, and ignorant. Fast forward to the 21st Century, and we witness the false promise of natural gas being extracted from the Utica and Marcellus shale deposits and the profits once again going mainly to outsiders.

 

PA BIL/IRA and Related News Clips

With labor and environmentalists talking, Pa. House Blue-Green alliance debuts legislative agenda By: Peter Hall – April 16, 2024 – PA Capital Star – The 11-bill package includes solar for schools, prevailing wages for green energy, and e-waste recycling. For Robert Bair, president of the Pennsylvania State Building & Construction Trades Council, the event marked a years-long shift away from a belief that the interests of organized labor and environmental advocates are mutually exclusive.

Pennsylvania Solar Center announces April 25 webinar @ Noon – to discuss a wide array of career pathways that lead to Pennsylvania’s solar industry, and a growing number of workforce development programs to keep pace. With IRA funding, the webinar will include an International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers discussion on their apprenticeship programs and world-class training facilities and the Pennsylvania College of Technology’s Clean Energy Center. Click Here to Register.

Pittsburgh teen summit aims to build community around collective action on climate change by Jillian Forstadt – April 12, 2024 – 90.5 WESA

‘It takes us to a new level:’ School officials back Pa. bill to fund solar energy in districts – by Marshall Keely, April 11, 2024 – WNEP-TV – A grant program called “Solar for Schools” aims to help districts save money by installing solar panels and allowing them to decide how to reinvest those dollars.

My commonsense plan for a new era of energy leadership in Pa – by Gov. Josh Shapiro, Tuesday, April 2, 2024 – Trib Live

As a Contested Pitts. Primary Nears, Climate Advocates Rally Around a Progressive Fracking Opponent, Rep. Summer Lee – by Keerti Gopal, Kiley Bense – April 10, 2024 – Inside Climate News. In the historic heart of PA’s fossil fuel industry, Lee finds herself in a hotly contested primary against a moderate Dem. who is backed by a GOP-funded PAC.

Centralia, Wash.’s coal plant has to close next year. Can Pa. communities learn from Centralia’s transition? By Rachel McDevitt – April 10, 2024 – StateImpact – Under pressure from climate activists to close, the plant agreed to a deadline & put millions in a transition fund. That’s giving Centralia a chance.

 

PA BIL/IRA Project Update

DOE’s Clean Energy Demonstration Program on Current and Former Mine Land –

Mineral Basin: Coal-to-Solar in Pennsylvania Community Briefing Released – Full Slide Presentations Here – $90 Million Solar Project in Clearfield County.

Largest solar project in Pa. to be built on former coal mine with $90M federal grant — By Reid Frazier, March 28, 2024 – The Allegheny Front

Feds send $90M to largest state solar project yet — in Clearfield County, By Julie Noal and Jeff Corcino, The Progress, March 22, 2024

Pennsylvania’s largest solar farm will replace its largest coal plant – by Michelle Lewis, Electrek  | Mar 21 2024

Swift Current Energy’s Mineral Basin Solar Project Selected by U.S. Department of Energy to Receive up to $90M Award to Develop Clean Energy Project on Former Mine Land – PITTSBURGH, PA, March 25, 2024

 

In case you missed it: Biden-Harris Administration’s Top Climate Accomplishments:

  1. Signed into law the largest climate investment in history, the Inflation Reduction Act, which has already created 210,000 new jobs across nearly every state and attracted more than $200 billion in private clean energy investments ($365 billion since President Biden took office), while putting the U.S. on a path to meet our climate goals and reach 80% clean energy by 2030 – in addition to securing the American Rescue Plan, Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, and CHIPS and Science Act
  2. Established a whole-of-government strategy to tackle methane emissions – from plugging wells and leaks in the oil and gas sector, to reclaiming abandoned coal mines, to reducing food waste and agricultural emissions, and finalized a historic rule to reduce methane emissions from oil and gas operations by nearly 80%, delivering billions of dollars in health and economic benefits
  3. Launched the American Climate Corps to mobilize a new, diverse generation of Americans – putting them to work conserving and restoring our lands and waters, bolstering community resilience, deploying clean energy, implementing energy efficient technologies, and advancing environmental justice, all while creating pathways to high-quality, good-paying jobs
  4. Advancing the most ambitious environmental justice agenda in history, including by signing a historic Executive Order that calls on the federal government to bring clean energy and healthy environments to all and mitigate harm to those who have suffered from toxic pollution and other environmental burdens like climate change; delivering on the Justice40 initiative, which is ensuring that the benefits of President Biden’s historic investments in America – from clean energy projects to floodwater protections – reach communities that need them most; replacing lead pipes and taking action to protect communities from PFAS pollution; accelerating Superfund cleanups; tightening air quality enforcement near pollution facilities; and more
  5. Protected 26 million acres of lands and waters – on track to conserve more lands and waters than any President in history – including five new national monuments that include protections for lands in Colorado, Nevada, Texas, and most recently, the Baaj Nwaavjo I’tah Kukveni – Ancestral Footprints of the Grand Canyon National Monument in Arizona; initiating new national marine sanctuaries as part of the President’s goal of conserving 30% of lands and waters by 2030, delivering billions of dollars to accelerate land, water, and wildlife conservation efforts in all 50 states
  6. Canceled remaining oil and gas leases issued by the previous administration in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, proposed protections for more than 13 million acres in the National Petroleum Reserve in Alaska, and withdrew approximately 2.8 million acres of the Beaufort Sea, ensuring the entire United States Arctic Ocean is off limits to new oil and gas leasing
  7. Signed an Executive Order that sets an ambitious target to make half of all new vehicles sold in 2030 zero-emissions, while proposing strongest-ever limits on tail pipe emissions and issuing fuel economy standards, giving Americans more choices about the cars they drive, and saving Americans hundreds of dollars at the pump
  8. Proposed carbon pollution standards for coal and gas-fired power plant emissions that would avoid hundreds of millions of tons of carbon dioxide emissions and protect people’s health
  9. Accelerated permitting of clean energy projects, including 47 projects on public lands that total 11.2 megawatts of wind, solar and geothermal energy on public lands – enough to power more than 3.5 million homes, and broke ground on 10 major transmission projects, which are slated to connect 19.5 gigawatts of new generation to the grid
  10. Rallied world leaders to raise global climate ambition, including by securing commitments from more than 155 countries to reduce methane emissions by at least 30 percent by 2030, joining leaders at COP28 to commit, for the first time, to transition away from fossil fuels, end new unabated coal capacity globally, and agree to triple renewable energy globally by 2030
  11. Invoked the Defense Production Act using emergency authority on the basis of climate change to increase domestic production of key clean energy technologies, such as solar, transformers and electric grid components, and heat pumps

 

April 4, 2024 Announcement on EPA’s National Clean Investment Fund (NCIF) and Clean Communities Investment Accelerator Fund (CCIA)

By EPA’s Office of Public Engagement and Environmental Education

EPA has made three selections under the $14B National Clean Investment Fund:

  • Climate United Fund ($6.97B): A coalition led by three leading mission-driven lenders and investors (Calvert Impact, Community Preservation Corporation, Self-Help Ventures Fund) with a proven track record of mobilizing $30 billion in private and institutional capital focused on economic opportunity and environmental sustainability in low-income and disadvantaged communities;
  • Coalition for Green Capital ($5.00B): A new, national green bank that will partner with an existing network of state and local green banks across the country, which has collectively catalyzed $20 billion in investment into qualified projects; and
  • 1 Power Forward Communities ($2.00B): A national housing decarbonization finance program led by leaders in community development finance (LISC, Enterprise), electrification (Rewiring America), and affordable housing (United Way, Habitat for Humanity)

 

EPA has made five selections under the $6B Clean Communities Investment Accelerator:

  • Opportunity Finance Network ($2.29B): A leading industry group with a 40-year record serving community development loan funds;
  • Inclusiv ($1.87B): A leading industry group with a 50-year record serving community development credit unions and cooperatives;
  • Native CDFI Network ($400M): A critical umbrella organization that supports and advocates for Native CDFls;
  • Justice Climate Fund ($940M): A new organization serving a broad cross-section of community lenders in hard-to-reach communities; and
  • Appalachian Community Capital ($500M): A community development finance organization with a decade-long track record in Appalachian communities that is establishing a “Green Bank for Rural America” initiative to expand capital access in coal, energy, underserved rural, and Tribal communities.

 

These eight awards will create a national clean financing network to finance climate and clean energy projects— especially in low-income and disadvantaged communities. Commitments include:

  • 70% of funds to low-income and disadvantaged communities; and
  • Achieve at least a 7-1 private capital mobilization ratio.

 

 

EPA’s Next Steps

Award Finalization Process: April – June 2024

EPA processes the awards, including:

  • Finalizing terms and conditions;
  • Updating workplans and budgets; and
  • Completing other paperwork to obligate funds prior to the September 30, 2024 statutory deadline.

EPA Note: Timeline assumes that no applicants successfully dispute non-selection decision administratively or judicially

Performance Period: July 1, 2024 & Onwards

Recipients and their partners begin executing their programs, with funding delivered to communities quickly, as evidenced by selected applicants having provided:

  • Hundreds of letters from transaction partners and potential counterparties to deliver against a transaction pipeline of billions of dollars in the first year alone; and
  • 700+ letters of interest from community lenders that are eager to participate and deploy projects that low-income and disadvantaged communities need most.

EPA’s Posted Materials – April 4, 2024

These pages include contact links for each GGRF recipient organization listed above.

EPA Informational webinars – for each program, with additional webinars to be announced on EPA’s GGRF webpage.

  • National Clean Investment Fund webinar:

Links for these GGRF Webinars also appear at: https://www.epa.gov/greenhouse-gas-reduction-fund/engagement-opportunities

Joe Cullen