Vermont Electric School Buses to Help Prevent Grid Blackouts

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Originally published in the New York Times, November 8, 2023 Four electric school buses in South Burlington, Vermont represent a test of the idea that electric vehicles could be a buffer that soaks up power when there is too much and provides it when demand for electricity surges. While buses sit idle during school hours the local utility, Green Mountain Power, …

ICAST Experts Weigh In: 2023 State Legislative Wrap-Up and Looking Ahead to 2024

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By Kristen Cheriegate: Senior Policy Analyst | Ms. Cheriegate navigates ICAST through the policy world to obtain real-world solutions, funding resources, and networks with potential partners to provide more services to low- and moderate-income households. State legislatures are gearing up to pre-file bills for the 2024 season, but before we close the books on 2023, we wanted to provide some …

Tying it All Together

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Tying it All Together Timing and Key Considerations for Green Funds and Programs By Ravi Malhotra, NH&RA Tax Credit Advisor, November 2023 Federal agencies have steadily made progress in rolling out the new funds from the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) and Bipartisan Infrastructure Law (BIL). Multifamily property owners can fold these dollars into capital stacks for projects that incorporate solar and …

September 2023 Policy Blog

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Kristen Cheriegate  |  ICAST Policy Analyst ******************* Inflation Reduction Act Arrives at One-Year Anniversary The Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) directed over $369B toward incentives for nearly every corner of the clean energy industry. A year later – nearly $200B in tax credits stand at the center of IRA’s goals to clean up the two biggest sources of U.S. greenhouse gas …

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 …

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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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 …

2024 Budget with calculator

May 2023 Policy Blog

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Kristen Cheriegate  |  ICAST Policy Analyst ******************* U.S. Government Draft Budget Proposals Released for Fiscal Year 2024 In the President’s Budget Message, President Biden states his budget goals to continue lowering costs like affordable housing, home energy bills, and more. Budget Highlights include: Department of Energy (DOE): $11.9B in climate and clean energy research development, demonstration, and deployment to achieve …

Multifamily housing building

Green Retrofits Signal the Future in Cities’ Push Towards Decarbonization

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Green Retrofits Signal the Future in Cities’ Push Towards Decarbonization By Abram Mamet / NH&RA April 2023 Green Retrofitting in Practice  Well-considered and meaningfully executed retrofits have become increasingly important as communities across the country seek out effective climate resilience strategies. States like Massachusetts, New York, Illinois and Pennsylvania are at the forefront of that movement, having each enacted legislation or …

Scales Environmental Justice

April 2023 Policy Blog

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Kristen Cheriegate  |  ICAST Policy Analyst ******************* Biden-Harris Administration Announces $550 Million to Advance Environmental Justice The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced the availability of $550M from President Biden’s Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) to expedite investments through EPA’s new Environmental Justice Thriving Communities Grantmaking (EJ TCGM) program. This program will fund up to 11 entities to serve as grantmakers that …