EPA is about to give a handful of nonprofits $20 billion to make green lending accessible to more Americans. But first it had to give unsuccessful applicants a two-week heads-up.
Finalists who were not selected for two massive competitive grant programs initiated under President Joe Biden’s 2022 climate law were notified Thursday, the agency told E&E News, starting a countdown toward opening two huge new green lending programs.
EPA said awards under the programs — the $14 billion National Clean Investment Fund (NCIF) and the $6 billion Clean Communities Investment Accelerator (CCIA) — would be announced shortly. The agency’s competition policy requires it to give unsuccessful applicants the opportunity to request a “fuller debriefing” on their rejection within 15 days of receiving notification. EPA didn’t answer a question about whether that meant it would wait to announce awards until March 22.
The NCIF, which is frequently short-handed as a national green bank, aims to provide financing for tens of thousands of green energy and energy efficiency projects — with at least 40 percent of the benefits flowing to disadvantaged communities.
