EPA chose eight nonprofits Thursday to helm a $20 billion effort to make green lending a pillar of community finance.
The awardees will each receive a grant — some in the billions of dollars — when contract negotiations conclude later this year. Their mandate is to fund carbon-cutting projects and nurture a constellation of nonprofit community lenders and green banks to ensure long-term financing for things like residential solar panels and electric vehicle charging stations.
One goal of the Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund (GGRF) is to “empower communities to decide which projects they want that will have the greatest impact from their perspective in the place they call home,” Vice President Kamala Harris told an audience at a Charlotte, North Carolina, community center Thursday.
Harris and EPA Administrator Michael Regan announced winners Thursday for two GGRF competitions: the National Clean Investment Fund (NCIF) and the Clean Communities Investment Accelerator (CCIA).