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Building an Equitable Clean Energy Landscape for All   

Self-Help's Donnetta Collier had the honor of introducing Vice President Kamala Harris at an EPA event in Charlotte, NC. 

Last year, we prepared to launch a major initiative around clean energy. Our goal? To expand the benefits of clean energy — like cleaner air and lower energy bills — to all. 

When the federal Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) was passed in 2022, we recognized that the law, with its unprecedented $27 billion investment in clean energy, was laying the groundwork for a major economic shift. 

Economic change has a habit of increasing disparity. But we are determined to use this moment to turn that dynamic on its head and ensure that our national transition to a clean energy economy builds equity and opportunity for all. 

To realize that vision, Self-Help teamed up in 2023 with two other mission-based nonprofit organizations, Calvert Impact and Community Preservation Corporation, to form Climate United. Together, we intend to play a leading role in using financial tools to bring accessible, affordable clean energy solutions to communities that must not be left behind in this energy transition.  

In the fall of 2023, Climate United applied for a significant grant from the EPA under the Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund (the main clean energy fund created by the IRA). In early April of 2024, the EPA announced that Climate United is one of the grant awardees. Climate United has been awarded $6.97 billion. Self-Help, as a sub-awardee, will likely be responsible for utilizing around $2.33 billion. 

We’ll use these funds to help lenders across the country make more loans at better rates and terms for things like green mortgages, energy efficiency upgrades, electric vehicles and solar loans. We will purchase these loans from partner lenders so that they can continue to lend and offer affordable products, especially for borrowers of modest means, in communities across the country. 

Our goal is to make it easy for lenders to provide responsible financing that helps people make clean energy choices. Working with other lenders in this way enables us to have a far larger impact than we could ever have through direct lending alone. 

We’re ready to create enduring, thriving, and equitable clean energy markets and communities. Stay tuned in 2024 as this work continues to unfold! 

 

Vice President Harris, introduced by Self-Help’s Donnetta Collier, announced the EPAs selections for award recipients — including Climate United — for $20 billion in grant awards under the GGRF. Watch the video here.