Today, the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced winners of its Climate Pollution Reduction Grant (CPRG) competition, awarding $4.3 billion in grants to states, metropolitan areas, and tribal governments across the country. Northeast Energy Efficiency Partnerships (NEEP) congratulates all New England and Mid-Atlantic states, metropolitan areas, and tribal governments on their winning applications under EPA’s CPRG program.
Notably, a coalition of five New England states was awarded $450 million to establish the New England Heat Pump Accelerator, a multistate initiative that will rapidly accelerate adoption of highly efficient electric heating and cooling technologies. All five Coalition states identified residential heat pump solutions as a priority greenhouse gas (GHG) reduction measure in their climate action plans that will also improve air quality and lower high energy bills.
“Households in New England too often face high energy bills due to expensive heating fuels and inefficient heating and cooling systems,” said Maggie Molina, Executive Director of NEEP. “Burning fossil fuels in buildings also contributes to high levels of air pollution and greenhouse gas emissions. High-efficiency heat pumps are a critical solution to lowering pollution and energy costs, especially for those with high energy burdens.”
“We cannot afford a pace that goes one household at a time with energy efficiency programs and rebates,” added Molina. “The New England Heat Pump Accelerator is designed to leverage the power of the regional market to rapidly scale heat pump technologies. It will support our region’s HVAC workers by incentivizing distributors, contractors, and installers and will invest in innovative solutions for emerging low-carbon technologies.”
Several states, metropolitan statistical areas, and tribal governments also received awards to implement climate pollution reduction measures. NEEP reviewed these winners and identified the following examples of plans that feature energy efficiency and building decarbonization:
- Pennsylvania, Reducing Industrial Sector Emissions in Pennsylvania (RISE-PA), $396 million. The RISE-PA grant will reduce greenhouse gas emissions in the industrial sector through a competitive grants program and incentives for small-, medium-, and large-scale decarbonization projects across the state.
- New Jersey, Connecticut, Maryland, and Delaware, Clean Corridor Coalition: A Proposal for ZE-MHDV Infrastructure Along the I-95 Corridor, $248 million. This coalition will deploy electric vehicle charging infrastructure for commercial zero-emission medium- and heavy-duty vehicles on the Interstate-95 freight corridor as a joint venture.
- Hudson Valley Regional Council (New York), Mid-Hudson Municipal Landfill Emissions Mitigation, $3 million. This project will fund measures to reduce fugitive methane emissions from closed landfills through the use of biofilters.
- North Carolina, South Carolina, Maryland, and Virginia, The Atlantic Conservation Coalition, $421 million. This project will fund efforts to leverage the carbon sequestration power of natural and working lands, including coastal wetlands, peatlands, forests, and urban forestry.
- New Haven, CT, Union Station Area Thermal Energy Network, $9 million. The city of New Haven will build a networked geothermal system to provide heating and cooling to Union Station and renewable clean energy to surrounding mixed-income housing.
- King County, Washington, Accelerating Equitable Building Decarbonization Throughout the Building Lifecycle, $49.999 ($50) million. King County will implement programs to support reduction of operational emissions from existing multifamily and small commercial buildings, reduce embodied carbon in new buildings, and create systems to reuse wood at the end of a building’s life cycle.
- Nez Perce Tribe, Nez Perce Tribe CPRG Implementation Grant, $37 million. The Nez Perce Tribe application will fund residential energy efficiency and weatherization retrofits, wood stove replacements, renewable energy infrastructure, and electric vehicle transportation networks on the Tribe's facilities in Idaho and Oregon.
- Southeast Conference Alaskan Southern Coastal Communities, Accelerating Clean Energy Savings, $38 million. Coastal Communities will provide advisory services and incentives to replace residential oil burning systems with energy-efficient heat pumps in 50 Alaskan communities.
- Denver Regional Council, Decarbonizing DRCOG: A Zero-Emission Building Initiative, $199 million. Denver Regional Council will fund measures to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from residential and commercial building sectors and increase energy and resource efficiency within the Denver Metropolitan Area.
“Energy efficiency and building decarbonization are critical measures to reduce carbon pollution and this analysis of the region’s winners shows the breadth of energy efficiency and building decarbonization solutions,” said Erin Cosgrove, Senior Manager for Policy at NEEP. “Fifteen of 25 CPRG grants were awarded for building decarbonization, with eight funding community-specific initiatives. Two of the building decarbonization grants will flow to the NEEP region for the New England Heat Pump Accelerator and the Union Station Area Thermal Energy Network. These awards will support implementing new technologies that change how we generate power and heat our homes and programs that reduce emissions, lower energy costs, upgrade our homes and buildings, and support decarbonization of our grid.”
“For years, New England has led the way in implementing energy efficiency programs,” added Cosgrove, “The Accelerator will build on this success and invest in equitably transforming the market for heat pumps and heat pump water heaters on the community and regional level. Both the Accelerator and the Union Station Thermal Energy Networks are committed to Justice40 and prioritizing community-level solutions. By investing in communities directly, programs can start to tackle barriers that prevent all residents from seeing the benefits of decarbonizing our homes and buildings.”
NEEP supports and facilitates states and communities across the Mid-Atlantic and New England region in achieving their energy efficiency goals. We provide technical assistance to help the region tap into federal funding opportunities for energy efficiency and building decarbonization.