17 U.S. States & Territories to Receive $66 Million to Establish Energy Efficiency Revolving Loan Funds
The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) has awarded $66 million to 17 states and territories through the Energy Efficiency Revolving Loan Fund (RLF) Capitalization Grant Program, part of the Biden-Harris Administration’s Investing in America agenda. This program, backed by the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, aims to improve energy efficiency in public buildings and reduce energy costs for American families and businesses.
According to CleanTechnica, as part of the Biden-Harris Administration’s Investing in America agenda, the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) today announced 17 states and territories to receive awards totaling $66 million from the Energy Efficiency Revolving Loan Fund (RLF) Capitalization Grant Program. The program, supported by the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, provides funding to states and territories to establish or increase revolving funds enabling them to issue loans and grants for energy efficiency audits, upgrades, and retrofits to increase energy efficiency and improve the comfort of buildings. The RLF program will help these states and territories to make capital available to fund energy efficiency projects in public buildings and will encourage financial institutions to enable American families and small businesses to save money and reduce their energy costs. The Revolving Loan Fund program will help communities benefit from the clean energy economy, improve the comfort of homes and buildings, and support President Biden’s climate goals of reducing emission by 50 to 52 percent by 2030 and achieving a net-zero economy by 2050.
“Increased opportunities for low-cost financing will help states and territories expand access to the money- saving clean energy tools that will benefit the residential, commercial and public sectors,” said U.S. Secretary of Energy Jennifer M. Granholm. “We are excited to see states and territories take advantage of targeted and impactful financing options to transform their communities.”
Energy efficiency financing is a proven approach to accelerate the adoption of clean energy, according to a study produced by Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, the State and Local Energy Efficiency Action Network,?and DOE. Based on performance data from past successful energy financing programs, each dollar that the federal government invests in a state or local revolving loan fund can attract upwards of $20 in private capital. This means that each federal dollar used to establish a revolving loan fund at the state or local level has the potential to jump-start local economies while helping combat climate change.
This is the third round of awards from the Revolving Loan Fund Capitalization Grant Program. DOE expects to announce additional awards later this year. In total, the RLF Program will provide $242 million to awardees to capitalize energy efficiency revolving loan funds, with 40% of the funds allocated to all states, territories, and the District of Columbia, and 60% of the funds reserved for priority states as defined in the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law. Find more information about RLF award recipients is available on the RLF awards webpage.
