Connecticut to benefit from over $700 million in grants for community-driven solutions to cut climate pollution across New England
Publilshed by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)
BOSTON (JULY 22, 2024) – Today, as part of the Biden-Harris Administration’s Investing in America agenda, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency announced the general competition selections of the Climate Pollution Reduction Grants program, including three applications, totalling over $700 million, that benefit Connecticut. The New England Heat Pump Accelerator coalition application led by Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection has been selected to receive a $450 million grant. The City of New Haven has been selected to receive nearly $9.5 million. In addition, Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection is a partner in another selected coalition application led by the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection that has been selected to receive $248.9 million.
The three selected Climate Pollution Reduction Grant applications, totalling over $700 million, that benefit Connecticut are:
- The New England Heat Pump Accelerator, a coalition application led by Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection, has been selected to receive $450 million, the second largest in the country.
The New England Heat Pump Accelerator is a coalition application led by Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection and consisting of the Maine Governor’s Office of Policy Innovation and the Future, Massachusetts Department of Energy Resources, New Hampshire Department of Environmental Services, and Rhode Island Office of Energy Resources. The selected application will fund projects across Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, and Rhode Island that will rapidly accelerate the adoption of cold-climate air-source heat pumps, heat pump water heaters, and ground source heat pumps. The coalition will support its partners in providing resources for more than 500,000 single-family and multifamily residential buildings.
- The City of New Haven’s proposal for a networked geothermal system for Union Station has been selected to receive nearly $9.5 million.
The City of New Haven, Connecticut will build a networked geothermal system to provide clean heating and cooling to Union Station. The selected application will also provide renewable clean energy to surrounding mixed-income housing development adjacent to the train station. The selected application is a partnership between the City of New Haven, the Housing Authority of New Haven, and the New Haven Parking Authority.
- The Clean Corridor Coalition proposal for deploying electric vehicle charging infrastructure along I-95 for medium- and heavy-duty commercial vehicles has been selected to receive $248.9 million.
The Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection is part of the Clean Corridor Coalition, a selected coalition application led by the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection, which proposes ZE-MHDV infrastructure along the I-95 corridor. The 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 amongst the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection, Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection, Delaware Department of Transportation, and Maryland Departments of the Environment and Transportation. The selected application will also provide technical assistance for workforce development and corridor planning across New Jersey, Connecticut, Delaware, and Maryland.
“President Biden believes in the power of community-driven solutions to fight climate change, protect public health, and grow our economy. Thanks to his leadership, the Climate Pollution Reduction Grants program will deliver unprecedented resources to states, local governments, and Tribes to fund the solutions that work best in their communities,” said EPA Administrator Michael S. Regan. “Selected recipients have put forward ambitious plans to advance sustainable agriculture, deploy clean industrial technologies, cut emissions and energy costs in homes and commercial buildings, and provide cost- and energy-efficient heating and cooling to communities, creating economic and workforce development opportunities along the way.”
“No community should have to worry about a future of heat waves, flooding, and sea level rise; and every community should be able to seize the opportunities of a transition to a clean energy future. Today’s announcement underscores our commitment to addressing the climate crisis head-on through collaborative, community-driven solutions—from the New England Heat Pump Accelerator rolling out across five New England states, to the City of New Haven’s geothermal retrofit of Union Station providing renewable clean energy to neighboring mixed-income housing, to electric vehicle charging infrastructure powering commercial vehicles along I-95,” said EPA Regional Administrator David W. Cash. “These projects not only advance our region’s clean energy transition and create good jobs, but also deliver significant benefits to Connecticut communities by improving air quality, reducing energy costs, and fostering environmental justice. By working together, the New England partners are setting a powerful example of regional cooperation and innovation in tackling climate change.”
“This hugely impactful federal investment attests to Connecticut’s consistent commitment to fighting climate change— and our Congressional delegation’s continuing teamwork. As important as its historic magnitude—tens of millions of dollars— is its message of environmental justice and equity. It enlists and empowers forces of environmental activism in communities disregarded far too long. It will be truly transformative,” said U.S. Senator Richard Blumenthal.
“These three grants, totaling more than $700 million from the Inflation Reduction Act, are massive wins for Connecticut. They will lower energy costs by helping more people install heat pumps, continue to build out our electric vehicle charging infrastructure along I-95, and provide major upgrades to Union Station. These awards are the perfect example for why this legislation was so historic; it funds projects that create good-paying jobs, will cut costs for families, and help us achieve our climate goals. I’m proud to have advocated for this funding, and I look forward to seeing it make a big difference in our state,” said U.S. Senator Chris Murphy.
“Today’s announcement supports a clean energy future for Connecticut and our nation,” said U.S. Representative John Larson. “The Connecticut delegation worked together to pass the Inflation Reduction Act to address climate change, bolster energy innovation, and lower costs for American families. This funding builds on this historic progress by upgrading critical energy infrastructure from heating and cooling technology to electric vehicle charging while creating good-paying jobs across New England.”
“Major federal funding is coming to our region to reduce pollution thanks to the Inflation Reduction Act, which is the largest climate investment in world history,” said U.S. Representative Joe Courtney. “I applaud Connecticut’s Department of Energy and Environmental Protection and their partners for leading game-changing projects that will create more jobs, advance energy efficiency, and cut emissions.”
“I’m elated that the Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection was selected as a grant recipient by the New England Heat Pump Accelerator Project. This funding will help lower household utility costs and reduce air pollution across Connecticut through the installation of heat pumps in single-family homes and multifamily residential buildings. Efforts like this are critical to removing economic barriers to our clean-energy economy, and I’m proud that the Northeast will showcase how integrating green technologies into existing infrastructure benefits both families and the environment,” said U.S. Representative Jim Himes.
“During my time in Congress, I have advocated for investments to reduce pollution so our communities are healthier and part of the climate solution,” said U.S. Representative Jahana Hayes. “Today’s grant announcement of over $700 million in Climate Pollution Reduction Grant funding to Connecticut and surrounding partner states is a giant step forward in achieving a greener future. I am grateful to the EPA for funding these projects and to the Biden-Harris Administration for prioritizing historic investment in climate action through the Inflation Reduction Act.”
“This funding means more residents in Connecticut—and more importantly, more low-income residents in our state—will be able to realize the benefits of truly clean, safe, healthy, and energy-efficient heating and cooling. This multi-state initiative will also enable more equitable participation in the green economy,” said Governor Ned Lamont. “Thank you to the Biden Administration and the EPA for this Inflation Reduction Act opportunity, to our Congressional delegation for their support and efforts to pass the underlying legislation, to DEEP for taking the lead, and to our partner states across the region for their collaboration.”
“We are thrilled that the EPA’s national competition recognized the region’s collaborative effort and vision to expand the benefits of proven heat pump technology across New England. Cold-climate heat pumps are several times more energy efficient than even the most efficient fossil fuel heating systems while also providing the health benefits of space cooling in warmer months. As our state experiences more frequent heat waves due to climate change, DEEP looks forward to accelerating the deployment of this versatile, clean heating and cooling technology while reducing costs and providing health benefits for our residents,” said DEEP Commissioner Katie Dykes.
EPA made its selections through a rigorous grants competition that was designed to be fair and impartial. The Agency reviewed nearly 300 applications that were submitted by entities from across the country and requested a total of nearly $33 billion in funding.
The 25 selected applications—from states, a Tribe, local governments, and coalitions of these entities—will receive federal funding to implement local and regional solutions. Many of these projects can be expanded and provide examples that other states, local governments, Tribes, and even businesses can replicate in their work to tackle the climate crisis.
Together, these selected projects will implement ambitious climate pollution reduction measures designed by states, Tribes, and local governments that will achieve significant cumulative GHG reductions by 2030 and beyond. When estimates provided by all selected applicants are combined, the proposed projects would reduce greenhouse gas pollution by as much as 971 million metric tons of carbon dioxide equivalent by 2050, roughly the emissions from 5 million average homes’ energy use each year for over 25 years.
EPA expects to announce up to an additional $300 million in selections under the Climate Pollution Reduction Grants program for Tribes, Tribal consortia, and territories later this summer.
State, Tribal, and local action is vital to deliver on the President’s commitment to reduce climate pollution by over 50 percent by 2030 and achieve net-zero emissions no later than 2050. The innovative measures contained in the selected applications, developed with input from local communities, are expected to achieve substantial public health benefits such as reducing exposure to extreme heat, improving air quality, reducing energy burden for lower income Americans, improving climate resilience, and providing workforce and economic development opportunities, particularly in low-income and disadvantaged communities.
The Climate Pollution Reduction Grants advance President Biden’s historic Justice40 Initiative, which aims to ensure 40 percent of the overall benefits of certain climate, clean energy, and other federal investments flow to disadvantaged communities that are marginalized by underinvestment and overburdened by pollution.
The grants will fund projects supporting the deployment of technologies and programs to reduce greenhouse gases and other harmful pollution across the country and build the infrastructure, housing, industry, and competitive economy needed for a clean energy future. These grants will also help businesses capitalize on new opportunities, spur economic growth and job creation in new and growing industries, and support development of training programs to prepare workers. EPA expects to award the funds later this year, once all legal and administrative requirements are satisfied.
Many of the proposed projects contained in the selected applications announced today, as well as the $250 million in planning grant funding that EPA is providing under the CPRG program for development of Climate Action Plans by state, local, and Tribal governments across the country, will complement the Biden-Harris Administration’s historic federal actions and national climate strategies across sectors. Those include: the U.S. National Blueprint for Transportation Decarbonization, the Administration’s efforts to achieve 100% clean electricity by 2035 and make zero emissions construction common practice by 2030, the Industrial Decarbonization Roadmap, the U.S. Buildings Decarbonization Blueprint, the Administration’s climate-smart agriculture efforts and Nature Based Solutions Roadmap, the U.S. Methane Emissions Reduction Action Plan (pdf) , the National Climate Resilience Framework, and more.
Learn more about the selected applications
Learn more about the CPRG program
Read the full article at: https://www.epa.gov/newsreleases/connecticut-benefit-over-700-million-grants-community-driven-solutions-cut-climate
