ICAST Experts Weigh In: Green Upgrades – Customer Satisfaction and Keeping Costs Low

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By Rob Foley | Technical Solutions Specialist  Mr. Foley supports the organization with his expertise in energy auditing, capital need assessments, and energy modeling.   New incentives from the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) have elevated high-efficiency heat pump HVAC technology in our news feeds and conversations. ICAST has been promoting and installing these systems for years because we recognized their potential …

ICAST Releases Resource Guide for Deploying Solar in Multifamily Housing

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Since 2019, ICAST has been working with the U.S. Dept. of Energy’s Solar Energy Technology Office to implement Project SunLight, an initiative to overcome the hurdles of deploying solar PV in MFAH. MFAH has been chronically underserved by clean energy programs, denying the low-income tenants access to green solutions that could reduce their utility bills and improve their quality of …

August 2023 Policy Blog

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Kristen Cheriegate  |  ICAST Policy Analyst ******************* Update on Biden Administration’s Investing in America Tour President Biden and team recently toured the U.S. to directly communicate with communities impacted by his Investing in America Agenda. During the tour, the President discussed how federal investments including the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) and Bipartisan Infrastructure Law (BIL) are driving a manufacturing and …

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Electrification Upgrades

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A New Generation of Heat Pump Systems Increases Efficiency By Ravi Malhotra Tax Credit Advisor, July 2023 More and more states have regulations and mandates requiring multifamily affordable housing properties to decarbonize (i.e., replace the use of natural gas, oil, or propane with electricity). This can be accomplished by upgrading systems for space and water heating. Electric heat pumps are …

July 2023 Policy Blog

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Kristen Cheriegate  |  ICAST Policy Analyst ******************* IRS and Treasury Release Additional Guidance on Low-Income Community Credit Program The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) and the Department of Treasury recently closed the comment period on a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking concerning the low-income communities’ bonus energy investment credit program. Established under the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA), this Program is designed to …

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Accessing Federal and Utility Incentives for Green Projects

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By Ravi Malhotra / NH&RA Issue: April 2023 The Bipartisan Infrastructure Law (BIL) provided the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) $3.2 billion for the Weatherization Assistance Program (WAP). This is on top of the ongoing ~$1.6 billion allocation (the standard WAP allocation independent of the BIL money for WAP) over the next five years. The BIL funds allow for some …

ICAST Experts Weigh In: What We Can Learn from Other Countries About Scaling Heat Pump Technology

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Jeff Hargis | ICAST Senior Technical Project Manager  Mr. Hargis supports the organization by leveraging his expertise in energy efficiency, distributed energy resources, and project management to help drive ICAST’s green retrofit projects.   Heat pumps for space and water heating are receiving growing attention in the U.S. as a means of cutting greenhouse gas emissions and reducing utility costs. More …

Taking Advantage of Federal Funds to Preserve and Construct Affordable Housing – Lessons Learned from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act

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If you follow ICAST’s blog, you know we have been hard at work leveraging opportunities created by the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law (BIL) and Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) to scale green solutions in underserved communities. For example, as previously reported, the BIL provided $3.2B for the U.S. Dept. of Energy’s Weatherization Assistance Program (WAP) on top of the $1.6B standard WAP …

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HUD Launches New Program to Pay for Multifamily Green Rehab

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The U.S. Dept. of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) recently announced the availability of  landmark funding through the new Green and Resilient Retrofit Program (GRRP) to support retrofits for HUD-assisted multifamily affordable housing (MFAH) properties.    The Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) provided HUD with approximately $837M in grant funding and $4B in loan authority for the GRRP. This program simultaneously invests in utility efficiency, renewable …

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Leveraging Available Incentives for EV Charging Infrastructure on Multifamily Properties

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by Ravi Malhotra NH&RA Tax Credit Advisor, June 2023 As demand for electric vehicles (EVs) intensifies, multifamily (MF) owners and operators are increasingly forced to explore their EV charging options. EV sales have soared, increasing by 67% from 2021 to 2022, and the U.S. Dept. of Energy (DOE) has adopted an International Code Council provision requiring apartment communities to provide EV charging …