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EPA Just Awarded $4.3 Billion in Funding for Climate Action

These 4 State Awards Rose to the Top

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State Climate Action
Person kneeling over a solar panel and screwing a part in.

This week, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) selected a combination of 25  states, municipalities, and coalitions to receive $4.3 billion in funding for their pollution reduction strategies. The announcement of Implementation Grant awardees represents the latest and biggest milestone yet within the Inflation Reduction Act’s (IRA) Climate Pollution Reduction Grant (CPRG) program. This is a once-in-a-generation opportunity for states to receive historic levels of federal funding to implement programs that will reduce pollution, propel clean energy industries forward, and provide workforce opportunities. States from Michigan to New Jersey, Montana to Minnesota will now receive critical funds to implement their visionary programs and transform state climate policy. 

Watch Once in a Generation: EPA’s Climate Pollution Reduction Grants

Who Won the Awards? 

Out of the nearly 300 applications submitted to EPA, 25 were selected at the state and municipal level. Of the 25 awardees, 13 are states or state coalitions, 11 are municipalities or municipal coalitions, and one is for Tribes. 

The states awarded are:

  • Pennsylvania: Covering industrial climate pollution and workforce development 
  • Illinois: Addressing agriculture and natural and working lands, buildings, clean power, industry and transportation 
  • Michigan: Accelerating siting, zoning, and permitting of renewable energy 
  • Nebraska: Addressing agriculture and working and natural lands, buildings, power, and industry
  • Minnesota: Addressing agriculture and natural and working lands, buildings, industry, transportation, and waste
  • Colorado: Covering buildings, clean power, industry, transportation and waste, 
  • Oregon: Addressing buildings, transportation, and waste
  • Utah: Addressing buildings, clean power, industry, and transportation
  • Montana: Covering agriculture and natural and working lands
  • Virginia: Covering clean power, industry, and waste

The state coalitions awarded are: 

  • New Jersey in partnership with Connecticut, Delaware, and Maryland will build out a medium and heavy-duty charging corridor along Interstate 95 (I-95)
  • Connecticut in partnership with Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, and Rhode Island will accelerate heat pump addition in single-family and multifamily residences
  • North Carolina in partnership with Maryland, South Carolina, and Virginia will achieve carbon sequestration of coastal, wetlands, peatlands, forest, and urban forests

 

Most Impactful Implementation Grant Awards

Now that EPA awarded these grants, ranging from $2 million to $500 million, what do these decisions mean for the future of state climate leadership? The quick answer is a lot. And while every state is now better positioned to tackle its unique climate challenges, these four states’ projects rose to the top for their ambition, impact, and ability to produce benefits for residents. 

1. Pennsylvania

The Implementation Grant awards will go a long way in supporting state climate pollution reduction in key sectors, like industrial pollution in Pennsylvania. The Commonwealth has been awarded $396 million, based on the Reducing Industrial Sector Emissions in Pennsylvania application, to cut industrial pollution across the state. This program will decrease climate pollution by 9.2 million metric tons cumulatively between 2025 and 2050, which is the equivalent of powering over 2 million homes for a year. This program will support small, medium, and large-scale facilities with climate pollution reductions by providing grants and incentives to industrial facilities for decarbonization projects, while also creating jobs with prevailing wage and apprenticeship requirements that ensure equitable workforce development. By tackling its biggest source of climate pollution, Pennsylvania will make sure residents experience improved air quality, along with more good-paying job opportunities. Evergreen is proud to have partnered with the Ohio River Valley Institute and labor stakeholders to support this application. 

2. Michigan

The Great Lake State will boost renewable energy generation through an award of $129 million for its Accelerating Siting, Zoning, and Permitting of 60 Percent Renewable Energy in Michigan application. This is a critical investment to help the state meet targets set by its 100 percent clean energy law, which was enacted by the state legislature and Gov. Whitmer last year (legislation that Evergreen Action endorsed and worked to pass). This program will reduce climate pollution by 456 million metric tons cumulatively between 2025-2050 through incentives for local governments to deploy solar, wind, and energy storage projects. In addition, it will incentivize renewable energy projects on brownfield sites, which will help the state meet its landmark clean energy law passed last year. By investing $10 million in incentives for projects in Tribal communities and developing technical assistance materials for low-income and disadvantaged communities, the state will strive to leave no communities behind in the urgent transition to clean energy. 

3. Utah

EPA is ensuring that pollution reduction is achieved across the nation by providing awards in all regions across a variety of sectors. Utah’s application, the Beehive Emissions Reduction Plan, will be funded at $74 million and is expected to reduce 1.4 million metric tons of pollution between 2025 and 2050. This program will address pollution from vehicles, buildings, power generation, and industry in the state by providing incentives for zero-emission fleet conversion, installing technology to reduce methane pollution from oil and gas facilities, funding solar power generation, and incentivizing energy efficiency upgrades at commercial and industrial facilities. Utah’s application detailed the state’s plans to ensure that small businesses and low-income and disadvantaged communities receive benefits such as electric bikes, vehicles, lawn equipment, and chargers, along with education and workforce training opportunities. 

4. New Jersey

By funding coalition applications like New Jersey’s I-95 corridor, EPA is demonstrating that regional collaboration can fast-track climate pollution reductions. The Clean Corridor Coalition will install electric vehicle charging infrastructure for medium and heavy-duty vehicles along the I-95 freight corridor and nearby roads, which will cut 18.6 million metric tons of pollution from the region between 2025-2050—the equivalent of taking over 5 million fossil fuel-powered vehicles off the road. This project will provide technical assistance and workforce training to prepare 400 workers to efficiently install hundreds of electric vehicle chargers throughout the region. There will be specialized workforce training opportunities to support low-income and disadvantaged community members to help put them on the path to high-quality employment in the clean energy economy. 

 

 

“It's not about putting steel in the ground—it's about putting steel in the spine of the American middle class.”

Ali Zaidi White House National Climate Advisor

 

How Much Money Did States Get?

Of the $4.6 billion available to applicants, EPA is providing $4.3 billion to states and municipal applicants and the remaining $300 million for Tribes and territories. The $4.3 billion awards were for the Implementation Grants general competition, while Tribes and territories had their own competitive grant process, which EPA will announce awards for later this summer. The $4.3 billion available for states and municipalities is divided into 5 tiers with different funding levels.

  1. Tier A ranges from $200-$500 million 
  2. Tier B ranges from $100-$200 million
  3. Tier C ranges from $50-$100 million
  4. Tier D ranges from $10-$50 million 
  5. Tier E ranges from $2-$10 million 

 

Why Do These Funding Levels Matter?

These different funding levels allow states to scale their applications based on the needs within their state. For example, some states may have decided to apply for a Tier A Implementation Grant for a program with a proven strategy to address a highly polluting sector, like transportation or industry, that requires a statewide implementation. While another state may have decided to apply for a Tier C or D grant to pilot a program that they would like to scale up in the long term. States were able to apply for Implementation Grants individually and in coalition with other states. 

EPA awarded the following funds to the state and state coalition recipients:

  • Tier A: Illinois, Nebraska, Pennsylvania, Connecticut coalition, New Jersey coalition, North Carolina coalition
  • Tier B: Colorado, Michigan, Minnesota, Oregon
  • Tier C: Utah, Virginia 
  • Tier D: Montana

The investments EPA announced are in line with Evergreen's recommendations and will unlock unprecedented progress to curb climate pollution across the U.S. We are excited to see EPA-supported states and coalitions across the political spectrum for applications that will cut climate pollution in and across states by awarding fewer larger grant's overall. We are also pleased to see that EPA selected applicants that addressed the largest sources of pollution in their states such as Pennsylvania, as well as awarded funds to states whose plans will advance the implementation of state standards and targets, like Michigan and Illinois. And we are looking forward to following the implementation of state coalitions like New Jersey's Northeast I-95 coalition, as they can set the standard for regional collaborations that can address the nation's largest sources of pollution.

 

What About States That Didn’t Get Awards?

Through the CPRG program, nearly every state in the U.S. came up with a climate plan. And while EPA wasn’t able to fund every single state or coalition application submitted under the Implementation Grant program, states can still receive funding to take their plans from ideas into action. It wasn’t a requirement for states to provide information on how to leverage other federal funding, but 41 of the 45 states that submitted plans provided that information. This means that state decision-makers and state advocates can see how the measures in the climate plans could be at least partially funded by other available federal funds, and states can pursue those opportunities. States that worked together to apply for Implementation Grants as a coalition can use that momentum to continue to coordinate regional action even if other federal funding is received by individual states or municipalities. 

 

What’s Next?

Now that EPA has identified which states will receive funds, states will begin developing these programs in earnest. As states work through the nuts and bolts of program design, it will be critical for stakeholders to remain engaged to ensure that labor, small business, and equity interests are prioritized throughout the process. Many states provided a stakeholder analysis in their climate plans, so they know which communities and stakeholder groups to engage to ensure that the programs are maximally successful and lead to the greatest benefits for residents. 

As states develop their Implementation Grant-funded programs, they must make sure that these programs are aligned with the broader climate goals of the state, region, and nation. These programs, if well-designed, can help states meet federal and state pollution reduction targets such as the National Ambient Air Quality Standards or the Greenhouse Gas Emissions Standards for light and heavy-duty vehicles. Thoughtful program development will result in benefits far beyond pollution reduction, including workforce development opportunities, reduced consumer bills, improved housing and transit options, and more. And state decision-makers have the power to tailor these programs to achieve these benefits with the involvement of stakeholders, and municipal, regional, and national coordination.

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