WSJ: EPA Launches Green Bank for Climate Funding in Low-Income Areas
July 14, 2023 The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is launching a national green bank to allocate $27 billion from last year’s climate law, focusing on aiding low-income communities vulnerable to climate change. This funding is crucial for supporting clean-energy projects like battery storage and electric-car charging in areas that typically lack private investment. The goal is to broaden participation in the clean-energy transition, with the EPA aiming to distribute these funds by September 2024. Green banks, which are not traditional banks but government-backed funds, will work with private investors to finance these projects. Of the total funds, $20 billion will be handled by national nonprofits for local projects, and $7 billion is earmarked for a state solar program targeting impoverished communities. The initiative is seen as essential for including poorer Americans in the clean-energy movement, despite some skepticism about its necessity given other financial incentives.