BIL/IRA Implementation Digest — August 12, 2024

by Joe Cullen

Aug 12, 2024 | BIL/IRA Implementation Digest

Upcoming BIL/IRA Webinars

 

New BIL/IRA Program Funding Availability Announcements

EPA’s Community Change Grants $2 billion Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO) is NOW OPEN!  Deadline to apply is November 21, 2024. – EPA is accepting applications on a rolling basis for $2 billion in IRA funding available to support community-driven projects that build capacity for communities to tackle environmental and climate justice challenges, strengthen their climate resilience, and advance clean energy. Read the announcement for the NOFO

Workforce Funding Announcement – Strengthening Community Colleges (SCC) Training Grants (Round 5) – U.S. Dept. of Labor, Deadline, Sept. 24, 2024 – The purpose of this grant program is to build community colleges’ capacity to meet the skill development needs of employers and equitably support students in obtaining good jobs in in-demand industries. Grantees will enhance sector-based career pathways programs using strategies rooted in evidence and designed to build further evidence on the effectiveness of sector-based career pathways programs in leading to positive employment outcomes.

On August 12, 2024 CDFI Capital Good Fund announced a new partnership with Philadelphia Green Capital Corp and Solarize Philly to expand solar leasing options for 60 low and middle income families through the launch of the Pennsylvania BRIGHT solar lease pilot. The Program is available to families in Philadelphia, Bucks, Chester, Delaware, and Montgomery counties. To be eligible, the homeowner’s gross annual income must be less than $100,000 or the homeowner must reside in a disadvantaged census tract as identified by the Climate and Economic Justice Screening Tool.

Biden-Harris Administration Invests $36 Million to Expand Innovative Weatherization Assistance Program and Cut Costs for Low-Income Households Across the Country; July 30, 2024 – DOE announced that applications are open for a $36 million Enhancement & Innovation (E&I) competitive grant program that aims to expedite the nation’s shift to clean energy through demonstration projects, lowering heating and cooling bills for American families. Projects that receive funding through the Weatherization Assistance Program (WAP) will not only support low-income homes by making them safer and more comfortable with the latest cutting-edge weatherization techniques, but also serve as an opportunity to showcase best practices that could be adopted across the country.  DOE plans to issue multiple awards, each with a maximum amount of $2 million. Eligible entities include existing WAP grantees, subgrantees, and other nonprofit organizations. Applications will be accepted in three categories: Multifamily, Single Family & Manufactured Housing, or Workforce Development.  Applications are due by September 27, 2024. DOE intends to announce E&I selections in late February 2025.

Biden-Harris Administration Announces New AmeriCorps Project to Spur Economic Growth & Job Creation in Energy Communities – July 23, 2024 – The Energy Communities AmeriCorps is a new project that will engage 150 full-time AmeriCorps members serving with the VISTA program in advancing locally designed economic development, workforce readiness, and environmental remediation plans in energy communities as they gain skills and experience for good paying clean energy and climate resilience jobs. This innovative public-private partnership will invest nearly $8 million from federal agencies and philanthropic sources to help ensure a more just and prosperous future for the men and women who fueled our nation’s growth. The Energy Communities AmeriCorps Program will partner with AmeriCorps, other federal agencies, and private foundation funders.  This project will work within the nine rapid response communities that the IWG listed as priority areas with the most impact from energy transitions (coal mine closures, power plant closures, etc.). Webinar dates and registration links:

 

 

New BIL/IRA Program Implementation Announcements

Environmental and Climate Justice Community Change Grants  – EPA announced $325 million in funding for 21 selected applications to help disadvantaged communities tackle environmental and climate justice challenges through projects that reduce pollution, increase community climate resilience and build community capacity. Funded by the Inflation Reduction Act, the Community Change Grants Program is the single largest investment in environmental and climate justice in history. Pittsburgh Conservation Corps & PowerCorpsPHL received $14 million to work in disadvantaged neighborhoods in Pittsburgh and Philadelphia to expand critical infrastructure for upcycling and commercializing materials from urban tree waste – offering workforce development and training to provide career pathways in land stewardship services and wood products.

USDA Announced $145 Million to Expand Access to Renewable Energy and Lower Energy Costs for Rural Americans: Rural Energy For America Program (REAP); Investments will Lower Energy Costs and Create Jobs in 39 States. USDA announced  $163 million in loans, grants and technical assistance that will support 338 clean energy projects in 39 States funded by the IRA. Press Release. Four projects in PA are:

  • Saint Francis University – $100,000: Saint Francis University in Cambria County will conduct 26 renewable energy assessments for rural small businesses and agricultural producers throughout Pennsylvania.
  • Northampton County Area Community College – $499,990: to provide technical assistance for stakeholders interested in REAP Energy Efficiency Improvement opportunities for rural small businesses and agricultural producers in PA.
  • Reinford Farms Inc. $712,572: to help Reinford Farms, a dairy farm and trucking operation located in Mifflintown, Juniata County, purchase and install a replacement motor upgrade for its anaerobic digester.
  • Miller-Redding Partnership dba Mr. Storage – $132,500: to help Miller-Redding Partnership install a 104.7-kilowatt (kW) solar photovoltaic (PV) system.

Harley-Davidson in York County gets $89 million to boost E-motorcycle production by Unnati Akhouri – StateImpactPA – July 24, 2024 – Harley-Davidson’s electric motorcycle business, LiveWire, is getting an $89 million boost to support a five-year project to increase production of zero-emissions motorcycles.

 

 

New BIL/IRA Program Technical Assistance Announcements

Decarbonization and Energy Bootcamps, DOE Better Plants Program

The DOE Better Plants program will have two Bootcamps (Decarbonization Bootcamp from Sept. 10–13, 2024, and Energy Bootcamp from Oct. 28–Nov. 1, 2024) for the rest of the year. The last day to register for the Decarbonization training course is Monday, August 26, 2024. The last day to register for the Energy training course is Monday, Oct. 14, 2024. You can register for the Decarbonization Bootcamp here and the Energy Bootcamp here.

 

Join DOE’s Equitable Solar Communities of Practice Convenings this Summer 

The DOE Equitable Solar Communities of Practice are hosting virtual community convenings this summer. These events, the first of which was led by the Clean Energy States Alliance (CESA) on meaningful household savings on July 23, bring together industry experts, community members, and stakeholders to discuss challenges and opportunities in scaling equitable solar across the U.S. Through these convenings, participants will learn about the landscape of each meaningful benefit category, explore and provide input on resource gaps, and identify best practices and potential solutions to bring equitable solar to scale. Further details on each convening are available below.

 

 

New BIL/IRA Implementation Reports 

State Finance Guide – The State Support Center (SSC) helps states access the expertise they need to effectively and efficiently deploy federal funding from the historic Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) and Infrastructure Investment & Jobs Act (IIJA), in order to reduce emissions and deploy clean energy technology in their state. SSC tracks states’ evolving needs and tailors its support, ensuring that technical assistance is targeted and efficient. The State Support Center worked with the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, Center for Public Enterprise, Clean Energy States Alliance, Lawyers for Good Government, RMI, The Tax Law Center at NYU Law, & Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati, among others to produce this Report. Clean Energy Finance Strategies for State Governments – August 2024

NEVI Implementation in Pennsylvania: Case Study – The National Association of State Energy Officials (NASEO) and the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (AASHTO) partnered with Atlas Public Policy to conduct a series of case studies with the first few states that have announced National Electric Vehicle Infrastructure (NEVI) Formula Program awards. NEVI is a $5 billion federal program with a primary investment in Direct Current Fast Chargers (DCFCs) along the nation’s major highways and interstates. June 2024.

Empowering America’s Energy Communities: Interagency Working Group on Coal and Power Plant Communities and Economic Revitalization (IWG) Stakeholder Retreat – July 23-24, 2024 – Washington, DC – The Energy Communities IWG hosted its first national stakeholder retreat bringing together energy community stakeholders from across the country to participate in a dynamic dialogue aimed at overcoming challenges through innovative, community-based partnerships. Videos of Presentations are available Here.

 

Fact Sheets

 

Resources

 

Health findings of Delaware County’s industrial communities – By Kathleen E. Carey – August 3, 2024 – Delco Times

Assessing Strengths, Stressors & Environmental Justice in Southeastern PA

(ASSESS) – A Community and Environmental Health Study – Summary Report

Clean Air Council, Johns Hopkins University, Marcus Hook Area Neighbors Release Community Environmental Health Study Findings In Delaware County – August 5, 2024 – Pa ENV Blog – by David Hess

A Loan Program Can Help Close the Green-Building Gap – Written by Anna Louie Sussman – July 17, 2024 – In a new study, Yale Univ. Prof. Cameron LaPoint weighs the positives and negatives of a lending program that puts climate resiliency upgrades within reach of financially constrained homeowners. While paying back the loans can strain some borrowers, the program allows more people to participate in the greening of the nation’s housing stock, while also providing positive effects for home values and the local tax base.

 

So Your CPRG Application Didn’t Get Funded – by Amy Turner & Vincent Nolette – Columbia Law School – August 1, 2024 – EPA announced the 25 successful applicants for a shared $4.3 billion in implementation funding under the IRA’s Climate Pollution Reduction Grant (CPRG) program. The IRA provides many other funding and financing sources to support clean energy projects.

Pennsylvania policymakers underestimate public support for solar projects, survey says by Colton Poore, Princeton Univ. Andlinger Center for Energy and the Environment – August 1, 2024 – In their findings, based on survey responses from 894 Pennsylvanians and 206 policymakers from township, municipality, and county governments, the Princeton-led research team uncovered bipartisan support among Pennsylvanians for solar energy and other types of renewables when compared to a reference case of natural gas with carbon capture and storage. But when local elected officials were asked about the types of energy projects they thought their constituents would support, the officials did not believe they would prefer other types of energy projects to natural gas.

How the Dynamic Tax Credit Transfer Market is Unlocking the Energy Transition; Wednesday, August 7, 2024 – Recorded Webinar – Just over a year ago, the U.S. Treasury Department published initial guidance on the clean energy transferable tax credit market. This webinar looks at how the first year went. This webinar from Crux unpacks the current state of the market for 2024 tax credits based upon a database of over $6.8 billion in transactions of 2024 tax credits closed in the first half of 2024, including deals reported by more than 100 market participants.

Lessons From the Coal Boom That Didn’t Happen – July 9, 2024 By Joel Jaeger – WRI: Global electricity needs have continued to grow, so why were so many coal projects cancelled over the last decade? A big part of the answer is that clean energy filled the gap. Here, we explore the history of coal plants cancellations to help understand how the world can speed up cancellation of the remaining coal project pipeline. (We cover retirement of existing coal plants in a separate piece.)

 

 

New BIL/IRA Implementation Tools & Resources

New Web Site On Biden-Harris Administration Actions on Environmental Justice – The Biden-Harris Administration launched EnvironmentalJustice.gov, a new website that highlights the Administration’s actions on environmental justice, features stories of progress across America, and shares tools, resources, and funding opportunities to empower communities to navigate federal programs and advance environmental justice in their neighborhoods.

New PA Charging Stations for EVs – Tool – PennEnvironment and our national partners released a new interactive map that highlights EV charging stations in state and national parks and forests across the state and country, to show folks where they can plug in their electric vehicles while enjoying nature. (Or recharge where they recharge!). The map features 260+ national and state parks and forests around the country, including the 40+ chargers that DCNR has installed across the Commonwealth. See new interactive map from PennEnvironment Research and Policy Center, Environment America Research and Policy Center, PennPIRG, U.S. PIRG Education Fund, and Frontier Group.

The Milken Institute’s new Community Infrastructure Center connects project sponsors with free, automatic tools from grant searching to readiness assessments and matchmaking with providers to get your project implementation ready. For more information, contact Sarah Ortner – sortner@milkeninstitute.org.

 

 

PA BIL/IRA & Climate News Clips

 

 

National BIL/IRA & Climate News Clips

How Dalton, Georgia, went from Carpet Capital to Solartown, USA – By Julian Spector August 13, 2024 – Canary Media – This NW Georgia community got in early on the national boom in cleantech manufacturing spurred by the climate law, and it’s reaping the benefits.

Where (and How) Americans Are Taking Advantage of Clean Energy Tax Credits – By Nadja Popovich – August 8, 2024 – New York Times – Americans claimed more than $8 billion in climate-friendly tax credits under the Inflation Reduction Act last year, according to new data released by the Treasury Department, a “significant” number that is higher than initially expected, officials said.

Biden Policies Offer Benefits, but Little Political Payoff, in Pennsylvania – By Jeanna Smialek and Alan Rappeport – July 16, 2024 – New York Times – As inflation worries dominate, the Biden administration is struggling to take credit for infrastructure and industrial policy in the battleground state.

Dilemma on Wall Street: Short-Term Gain or Climate Benefit? By Lydia DePillis – June 20, 2024 – New York Times – Portfolio managers have conflicting incentives as the economic & financial risks from climate change become apparent but remain imprecise.

IRA’s biggest climate program has ‘decimal dust’ for oversight – By Jean Chemnick – July 16, 2024 – Politico – EPA has until September to spend $27 billion. But the agency is short on cash needed to avoid expensive mistakes. But the initiative has a shoestring operating budget, and the $27 billion program is now facing charges of empty oversight and potential waste – and the prospects of a Republican feeding frenzy over President Joe Biden’s climate law if the program stumbles.

The climate law is helping bring solar to more apartment buildings. By Jeff St. John

July 30, 2024 – Canary Media – The tax-credit transfer markets created by the Inflation Reduction Act are boosting clean energy in tough-to-crack markets — like rooftop solar on multifamily housing.

Churches are going solar and saving big thanks to the climate law – By Jeff St. John — July 29, 2024 – Canary Media – The Inflation Reduction Act is helping churches, synagogues, and mosques across the nation access the climate, cost, and reliability benefits of solar power.

Startup nabs $60M for high-tech cables to help speed clean energy rollout – by Jeff St. John – July 31, 2024 Canary Media – The grid needs much more capacity to bring clean energy online. TS Conductor’s tech could help — and federal and state policies are pushing utilities to adopt it.

Americans tapped $8 billion in tax credits on home energy upgrades By Julie Zauzmer Weil – August 7, 2024 – Washington Post – Far more taxpayers than projected claimed the IRA’s incentives on solar panels, heat pumps and other climate-friendly projects, data shows. American taxpayers claimed more than $8 billion in credits on their 2023 returns — more than twice government projections — for making climate-friendly upgrades to their homes under the Inflation Reduction Act, the Treasury Department reported Wednesday.

US oil output notches fresh record in August – by Ben Lefebvre – 08/07/2024 Politico — U.S. oil production set an annual record peak in 2023 that is likely to be broken this year. U.S. oil producers pumped record high levels of crude last week, according to government data released Wednesday, extending the upswing in output that has made the United States the biggest oil and gas producer in history.

This Texas Energy Is So Bountiful, They Pay You to Take It Away – By Rebecca F. Elliott – August 7, 2024 – New York Times – Two years ago, natural-gas prices surged after Russia invaded Ukraine and restricted supplies of the fuel to many European countries, terrifying Western leaders. Now, the fuel is so abundant that some U.S. energy producers are often paying other businesses to take it away. Natural gas has traded below zero for much of the year in West Texas, home to the country’s largest oil field, the Permian Basin.

Can Dirt Clean the Climate? – By Somini Sengupta – August 10, 2024 – New York Times

An Australian start-up is hoping fungi can pull carbon dioxide from the air and stash it underground. It’s one of several ventures trying to deploy the superpowers of soil to slow global warming.

 

 

Testimony on Gov. Shapiro’s Energy Plan

House Committee Held 2nd Hearing On Governor’s Energy Plan To Diversify Energy Generation, Improve Grid Reliability, Lower Consumer Energy Costs – August 2, 2024

On July 29, 2024 the House Environmental Resources and Energy Committee held its second hearing on House Bill 2277 (Otten-D-Chester), the PA Reliable Energy Sustainability Standard (PRESS) is the Governor’s Energy Plan that would diversify energy generation, improve grid reliability, lower consumer costs by avoiding energy price spikes and create energy-related jobs. – Testimony of witnesses included:

Additional written testimony submitted by:

Click Here for a video of the hearing.

 

 

Updates on Fracking, Methane Leaks & Hydrogen Hub

 

 

Updates on PJM Operations & Management

 

 

In Case You Missed Them – Two Encouraging Charts

 

Chart: 85% of new electricity built in 2023 came from renewables – by Carrie Klein, July 19, 2024 – Canary Media – A whopping 473 gigawatts of clean energy capacity was installed last year, yet another indicator of the rapid rise of solar and wind power. Source: Renewable Energy Highlights

 

 

RMI Graphic – The world added 2,032 GW of solar, wind & other clean power capacity from 2015 to 2023, far outpacing forecasts – lower costs & improving technology made these a better option.

 

Joe Cullen