Biden’s $27 Billion Clean Energy Catalyzer Spurs Funding Feud
As groups compete over a fund created by Democrats’ climate law, officials must decide whether to put most of it in a national green bank or dole it out more broadly.
Solar panels next to a rail yard in Los Angeles.
Photographer: Bing Guan/BloombergThe US government is getting ready to unleash $27 billion to fund projects in disadvantaged communities that cut greenhouse gas emissions and boost clean energy. The cash infusion from last year’s sweeping climate and tax law is meant to drive the deployment of solar panels, heat pumps and electric vehicles in underserved places around the nation.
But even before the government formally seeks funding applications, hundreds of potential recipients are jockeying for the money. The competition pits credit unions and community development institutions against a national not-for-profit organization that says it should collect much of the haul and be a clearinghouse for the taxpayer dollars, making it the first-ever US-government-minted green bank.