EPA is expected to announce soon which nonprofit applicants it will task with turning $20 billion in federal grants into a lasting catalyst for green finance.
The agency has stayed mum on when it will publicize the awards under the Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund, its flagship program under the Democrats’ 2022 climate spending law. It has said repeatedly that the awards would be made in March.
EPA notified unsuccessful finalists three weeks ago, as it is required to do at least 15 days prior to announcement under its own policy for competitive grants. Applicants that didn’t hear from the agency now expect to receive awards under one of two nonprofit grant competitions.
The $14 billion National Clean Investment Fund (NCIF) competition — often shorthanded as the national “green bank” — is better known. Nonprofit coalitions tapped to become intermediaries for that program will help finance green energy and energy efficiency projects across the country — with at least 40 percent of the benefits flowing to disadvantaged communities.
