Ensuring Multifamily Benefits from the Push By Ravi Malhotra Tax Credit Advisor, August 2023 Since early 2023, ICAST’s articles have covered the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) and Bipartisan Infrastructure Law (BIL) and their potential impacts on multifamily affordable housing. The BIL provided billions for the Weatherization Assistance Program (WAP) on top of the standard allocation, so for the next four …
ICAST Experts Weigh In: Green Upgrades – Customer Satisfaction and Keeping Costs Low
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
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
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 …
Electrification Upgrades
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
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 …
Accessing Federal and Utility Incentives for Green Projects
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
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 …
ICAST Experts Weigh In: Optimizing Health and Energy Solutions for Affordable Housing
Max Wilkinson | Healthy Homes Program Manager Mr. Wilkinson helps design and shepherd ICAST’s efforts to improve home health for tenants in multifamily affordable housing. ICAST’s goal with every multifamily retrofit is to increase home health, safety, comfort, and affordability for low- and moderate-income tenants. We have a custom, whole-building approach—in other words, we identify and deliver the best solutions …
Clean Energy Financing Insights – Why Green Retrofits Offer Better Bang for the Buck
It is understandably challenging for cost-constrained multifamily affordable housing (MFAH) property owners and managers to spend their carefully budgeted dollars on unfamiliar green tech (e.g., heat pump-based HVAC) vs. familiar technologies with lower upfront costs. While “going green” can be expensive, traditional or “business as usual” retrofits have limited benefits. They may solve an immediate problem (e.g., addressing/replacing failed HVAC …