Federal grant programs / Environmental Protection Agency

Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund: Clean Communities Investment Accelerator (66.960)

• Awarded, FY 2021 to 2025$6.0 billion
• Grant awards5
• Typical award$940 million
• Awarded in FY 2025$0
• Size rank82 of 1,823
• Type of assistanceGrant

Key findings

• It is the 82nd largest of 1,823 federal grant programs by five-year awards.
• The 5 largest recipients received 100% of the money.
• Awards went to recipients in 5 states and territories.

What the program funds

The Inflation Reduction Act amends the Clean Air Act to include Section 134 (42 USC § 7434), which authorizes the EPA to make competitive grants under the Clean Communities Investment Accelerator. The Clean Communities Investment Accelerator is currently funded by $6 billion from Section 134(a)(3) (out of $8 billion provided in Section 134(a)(3)). The Clean Communities Investment Accelerator implements the statute’s use of funds for indirect investments under Section 134(b)(2). Section 134(b)(2) directs recipients of funds for indirect investments to provide funding and technical assistance to establish new or support existing public, quasi-public, not-for-profit, or nonprofit entities that provide financial assistance to qualified projects at the State, local, territorial, or Tribal level or in the District of Columbia, including community- and low-income-focused lenders and capital providers. Section 134(c)(3) provides that a qualified project is any project, activity or technology that (A) reduces or avoids greenhouse gas emissions or other forms of air pollution in partnership with, and by leveraging investment from, the private sector; or (B) assists communities in the efforts of those communities to reduce or avoid greenhouse gas emissions and other forms of air pollution.

From the federal Assistance Listing. Read the full listing on SAM.gov.

Open opportunities

No opportunity under this program is open or forecast on Grants.gov right now. Programs often post once a year, so the funding history below shows what to expect.

Rules from the program listing

Who can apply

“Eligible recipients,” as that term is defined in Clean Air Act Section 134(c)(1), are eligible for grants from this competition. Section 134(c)(1) defines “eligible recipient” as a nonprofit organization that (A) is designed to provide capital, leverage private capital and provide other forms of financial assistance for the rapid deployment of low- and zero-emission products, technologies, and services; (B) does not take deposits other than deposits from repayments and other revenue received from financial assistance using the grant funds; (C) is funded by public or charitable contributions; and (D) invests in or finances projects alone or in conjunction with other investors. Specific criteria EPA used to determine eligibility for funding under this program was provided in the NOFO. Information on applicant eligibility is also available to view on the Frequent Questions about the Clean Communities Investment Accelerator web page (https://www.epa.gov/greenhouse-gas-reduction-fund/frequent-questions-about-clean-communities-investment-accelerator#eligible).

What the money can and cannot pay for

Please refer to the Frequent Questions about the Clean Communities Investment Accelerator web page (https://www.epa.gov/greenhouse-gas-reduction-fund/frequent-questions-about-clean-communities-investment-accelerator#fin-assist) for information on how assistance may be used under this program, or if there are any funding use restrictions.? EPA has developed a set of terms and conditions for this program to provide detailed requirements on allowable uses of funds. This program makes Federal awards on a discretionary basis. A discretionary award means an award in which the Federal awarding agency, in keeping with specific statutory authority that enables the agency to exercise judgement (“discretion”), selects the recipient and/or the amount of Federal funding awarded through a competitive process or based on merit of proposals. A discretionary award generally may be selected on a non-competitive basis, as appropriate but for this program competition is required by statute. For further information, please contact the Headquarters or regional office.This program makes Federal awards on a discretionary basis. A discretionary award means an award in which the Federal awarding agency, in keeping with specific statutory authority that enables the agency to exercise judgement (“discretion”), selects the recipient and/or the amount of Federal funding awarded through a competitive process or based on merit of proposals.

Continue reading on SAM.gov

Matching requirements

This program has no statutory formula. Matching requirements are not applicable to this assistance listing. MOE requirements are not applicable to this assistance listing.

Deadlines

The deadline for submission of applications, anticipated selections and anticipated award dates were communicated in the NOFO.

Award range and average, in the agency's words

EPA has awarded $6 billion in funding through this program, drawn from the appropriation under Section 134(a)(3) of the Clean Air Act. Five (5) grants recipients were selected with funding ranging from $400,000,000 to $2,290,000,000.

Examples of funded projects

Fiscal Year2025: The statute limits the entities eligible for funding and technical assistance from recipients under Section 134(b)(2) to public, quasi-public, not-for-profit, or nonprofit entities that provide financial assistance to qualified projects at the State, local, territorial, or Tribal level or in the District of Columbia, including community- and low-income-focused lenders and capital providers. To learn more about this program and view examples of the types of projects funded under this assistance listing, please visit the Clean Communities Investment Accelerator website (https://www.epa.gov/greenhouse-gas-reduction-fund/clean-communities-investment-accelerator).

Quoted from the program's federal Assistance Listing. The notice of funding opportunity is the official source for each competition's rules.

Who usually wins

Almost all of the money went to nonprofits.

By state

Each state below has its own page for this program, with its recipients and yearly totals.

Award amounts are federal obligations reported to USAspending.gov for fiscal 2021 to 2025; see how our data works.