Clean Communities Investment Accelerator (CCIA)

President Biden's Inflation Reduction Act authorized the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to implement the Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund, creating a historic $27 billion investment in communities across the country from states to territories to Tribal lands, from the largest urban cities to the most remote rural towns. This bold investment will not only deploy clean energy and combat the climate crisis but also improve health outcomes, lower energy costs, and create high-quality jobs for Americans all while strengthening our country's economic competitiveness and ensuring energy security.

As part of this investment, EPA is launching three distinct but complementary grant competitions: a $14 billion National Clean Investment Fund competition to finance clean technology deployment nationally; a $6 billion Clean Communities Investment Accelerator competition to finance clean technology deployment in low-income and disadvantaged communities while simultaneously building the capacity of community lenders that serve those communities; and a $7 billion Solar for All competition to spur adoption of clean distributed solar energy that lowers energy bills for millions of Americans in low-income and disadvantaged communities.

This Notice of Funding Opportunity provides details on the $6 billion Clean Communities Investment Accelerator competition. This competition will provide grants to 2 7 hub nonprofits that will provide funding and technical assistance to specific industry networks of public, quasi-public, not-for-profit, and nonprofit community lenders, supporting the goal that every community in the country has access to the capital they need to deploy clean technology projects in their homes, small businesses, schools, and community institutions. These community lenders could include community development financial institutions (including Certified Native CDFIs), credit unions, green banks, housing finance agencies, minority depository institutions, and other types of lenders.