March 2024 Policy Blog

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  Kristen Cheriegate  |  ICAST Policy Analyst ========== States Pledge to Boost Heat Pump Sales An agreement was signed by environmental agencies in nine states, calling for electric heat pumps to comprise 90% of residential heating, air conditioning, and water heating sales in the signatory states by 2040. Though not legally binding, the memorandum of understanding (MOU) holds that these …

ICAST Secures ERA Funding for Electric Coop and Tribe 

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DENVER, CO, February 29, 2024 – ICAST (International Center for Appropriate and Sustainable Technology), a 501c3 nonprofit, was awarded $10 million under the U.S. Dept. of Energy’s Energy Improvements in Rural or Remote Areas (ERA) program to install a 5 MW solar photovoltaic (PV) and 10 MWh battery energy storage system (BESS) on Taos Pueblo lands in New Mexico, served …

COP28: A Debate Between Soft Commitments vs Decisive Action

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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. The 2023 United Nations Climate Change Summit, the 28th meeting of the Conference of the Parties (COP28), took place in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) between …

Heat Pump Installations Slow, Impeding Biden’s Climate Goals

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By Santul Nerkar and Madeleine Ngo  Originally published in The New York Times, Nov. 9, 2023  More Americans are buying heat pumps, an environmentally friendly alternative to furnaces and air-conditioners that can significantly lower monthly energy bills. But the pace of installations has slowed in the past year, posing an obstacle to the Biden administration’s climate plans.  Rising interest rates and inflation combined …

Case Study: IRA, BIL Bringing Big Pots of Money to Green Affordable Housing

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By Mark Fogarty  NH&RA November 2023 If Timed Right, Financial “Braiding” Techniques May Cover Whole Cost of Retrofits There’s a brave new world of opportunities for “green” multifamily affordable housing renovation and development coming with the ever-quickening ascendancy of green buildings. This is according to one of the early adopters of clean energy solutions in multifamily, Ravi Malhotra—founder and president of ICAST. …

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 …

November 2023 Policy Blog

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Kristen Cheriegate  |  ICAST Policy Analyst White House Takes Action to Create More Affordable Housing The Biden-Harris Administration has released a fact sheet that highlights new actions to support the conversion of high-vacancy commercial buildings to residential use, including through new financing, technical assistance, and the sale of federal properties – creating much-needed affordable housing, energy-efficient, near transit, and good …

October 2023 Policy Blog

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Kristen Cheriegate  |  ICAST Policy Analyst Environmental Protection Agency Updates Solar for All Funding The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has updated the Solar for All (SFA) Notice of Funding Opportunity. The interested applicants requested over $38 billion in funding from the SFA competition. To maximize access to solar energy for low-income (LI) and disadvantaged communities, EPA has revised the maximum …

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 …