IRA home electrification upfront rebates program update

@Dana Nuccitelli FYI - a couple of Northeast states called their energy offices or equivalent in response to this and were told that they already have programs in place so don't need additional funding.  They're staying on top of it though, so it has been good to have a heads up.
 

Huh that's interesting, thanks for the update @Iona Lutey! I know Maine is going big on heat pumps, so that makes some sense. I'm a little surprised they don't want to take the federal money anyway, but it leaves more money for other states, so that's good 🤓

Thanks for the update, @Judy Davis. Yes, states have to tell the DOE by August that they plan to apply, but once they do that, they have until January to get the application in. But, we're all waiting. Get a move on, guys! 😂

It is good that they already have income verification processes that can be repurposed. You'd think that would make the process relatively easy and quick. Maybe if they'd taken those funds to devote more resources to the process, as you note 😉

This reminds me that when I was lobbying in DC last June, one of my meetings was with an MOC who was pissed that the rebates weren't already available at that point, because the bill had been passed 10 months prior and she wanted to get the funds out and use them herself to upgrade her home and get media coverage to better spread the word. In fact she told us that CCL should focus on getting the DOE and state to move faster (though that's not something we can do!). Now we're about 18 months since the bill passed, so it seems like something that should be a high priority for state energy offices to get done ASAP!

We have a big new update on these IRA low-and middle-income home electrification and efficiency upfront rebate programs. The first state to have its application approved and to receive funding under this program is … drumroll … New York! I have to admit I'm a little sad it's not California 😪😂

There are now 11 states that have submitted their paperwork and are awaiting this same Department of Energy (DOE) approval and funding. These states and their application submittal dates to the DOE are:

New Mexico (12/21/23 & 3/21/24; I think New Mexico is the first to apply for both rebate programs), Hawaii (12/29/23), California (1/12/24), Indiana (3/15/24), Washington (3/20/24), Arizona (3/21/24), Georgia (3/22/24), Minnesota (3/22/24), New Hampshire (3/22/24), Colorado (3/26/24), and Oregon (3/27/24).

I think we can expect New Mexico, Hawaii, and California to be approved soon. Then there's the flood of 7 more states that submitted their final applications in March. It took New York about 4 months from submittal to approval, but this second group's might might be approved a bit more quickly as the DOE irons out the process. So they'll probably be approved this summer.

One more update courtesy of @Brett Cease. Minnesota points out that after the DOE approves the state program, it still takes several more months for the state to build and implement the program. The good news for Minnesota is that they're ahead of their projected schedule, because they anticipated submitting the paperwork to DOE in mid-2024 but got it done in March. In any case, we can probably still expect several more months before New Yorkers can access these rebates.

It sounds like just about a month later, some of the funds are now available in New York!

Governor Kathy Hochul today joined U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Secretary Granholm and White House Senior Advisor John Podesta at the Andromeda Community Initiative in Queens to celebrate New York State becoming the first state in the nation to offer the first phase of Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) Home Electrification and Appliance Rebates (HEAR) Program funding to consumers. The initial $39.6 million formula grant will expand the reach of New York’s EmPower+ program by allowing more low-income families to improve their homes with energy efficiency and electrification upgrades that will reduce energy costs and transition away from burning fossil fuels in their homes.

I think New York was able to implement the program quickly because they're funneling the IRA funds through their pre-existing EmPower+ program. New Yorkers can apply for the funds here. And there's still more to come in NY:

Funding for the full portfolio of IRA Home Energy Rebate programs and deployment of additional rebates is expected later this year. The State is eligible to receive a total of $317.7 million through the DOE’s IRA Home Energy Rebate programs: $159.3 million for the Home Efficiency Rebates program and $158.4 million for HEAR program.

There are now 16 other states that have submitted their applications for the funds to the Department of Energy, which you can see in light blue on the map below. The new states that have submitted their applications over the past month are Wisconsin (5/4/24), Michigan (5/23/24), Rhode Island (5/9/24), Massachusetts (5/23/24), and Maine (4/30/24).

@Dana Nuccitelli 

Hopefully, the State Rebates (which is an integral component to support efficiency and electrification for low- and moderate-income households) will be summarized with actions (state /local) and included within tabling materials and other resources as part of the national electrification activation…    

Also, there are a other connected IRA related funding and policy levers that can be connected and used to encourage and advocate on energy efficiency and electrification (Note in Ga there are concerted statewide efforts (of which CCL participates) that I suggest has influenced the GA state energy office to move forward on applying for the rebates).  One is Climate Pollution Reduction Planning and Implementation (CPRG) grants and the other is the Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund (GGRF) .     

Climate Pollution Reduction Grants (CPRG) (State and Local Governments)  

Under Phase 1 (planning) EPA provided flexible support to states, local governments, Tribes, and territories in their respective climate planning and implementation process where recipients are funded to design climate action plans that incorporate a variety of measures to reduce GHG emissions from across their economies in six key sectors (electricity generation, industry, transportation, buildings, agriculture/natural and working lands, and waste management).  All planning grantees received their awards in the of fall 2023 except for five states: Florida, Kentucky, Iowa, South Dakota and Wyoming. All receiving entities must submit the following deliverables to EPA:

1. Priority Climate Action Plan -- submitted March 1, 2024 (states and Metropolitan Statistical Areas (MSAs)) and submitted April 1, 2024 (Tribes, Tribal consortia, and territories).

Click on link to access your respective MSA and/or state Priority Climate action plan and advocate for enhancing and increasing Electrification (Home. Business, Institutions, Industry and manufacturing) strategies, actions and polices within the Comprehensive Climate Action Plans due in 2025. 

2.  Comprehensive Climate Action Plan – due two years after planning grant award, or approximately mid-2025 (states and MSAs) and due at the close of the grant period (Tribes, Tribal consortia, and territories)
 

Under Phase 2 (Implementation), in 2023-2024, EPA held two competitions for the CPRG implementation grants – a general competition for applications from states, municipalities, Tribes, Tribal consortia, and territories, and a competition only available for Tribes, Tribal consortia, and territories. These competitions were open to entities that received planning grants to develop Priority Climate Action Plans (PCAPs) under phase 1 of the CPRG program (see above), as well as entities that did not directly receive a planning grant that are applying for funds to implement measures included in an applicable PCAP.  Eligible applicants could only apply for funding to implement measures contained in an applicable PCAP. 

EPA announced selections in the general competition on Friday July 22, 2024. The 25 selected applications came from states, local governments, Tribes, and coalitions of these entities across the country. 

The selected applicants will use $4.3 billion to implement ambitious local and regional climate pollution reduction measures and create high-quality jobs in rural areas and disadvantaged communities to significantly reduce greenhouse gases (GHGs) by 2030 and beyond. This includes over $1 billion for building energy efficiency measures in nearly 700,000 residences, including to deploy an estimated 580,000 heat pumps, efficiency (electrification) measures in approximately 50 million square feet of commercial buildings, and energy efficiency (electrification) improvements in 250 public buildings.  For example, Nebraska will receive $307 million to reduce agricultural waste and enhance energy efficiency in homes and buildings and Alaska to replace residential oil-burning systems with heat pumps. 

Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund (GGRF)  (State and Local Governments in partnership with and benefiting Communities)    

A $27 billion investment to mobilize financing and private capital to address the climate crisis, ensure our country’s economic competitiveness, and promote energy independence while delivering lower energy costs and economic revitalization to communities that have historically been left behind. Here is EPA’s engagement link with hosted webinars and recording for those interested  

• EPA Announces $7 Billion in Grants across 60 selectees to deploy solar energy for low-Income Households under the Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund’s Solar for All competition. EPA anticipates that awards to the selected applicants will be finalized in the summer of 2024, and selected applicants will begin funding projects through existing programs and begin expansive community outreach programs to launch new programs in the fall and winter of this year.

• EPA also announced selected applicants for the $14 billion National Clean Investment Fund.  The three selected applicants will establish national clean financing institutions that deliver accessible, affordable financing for clean technology projects nationwide, partnering with private-sector investors, developers, community organizations, and others to deploy projects, mobilize private capital at scale.

One of the selectees is the power forward communities coalition led by Enterprise Community Partners, Rewiring America, Habitat for Humanity International, the Local Initiatives Support Corporation (LISC), and United Way Worldwide to lead a national financing program providing customized and affordable solutions for single-family and multi-family housing owners and developers—with at least 75% of investments in low-income and disadvantaged communities.   One example mentioned is financing a whole-town demonstration program in Ga that combines Georgia Power with philanthropic support for energy efficiency upgrades homes including heat pumps and heath pump appliances.    

• EPA lastly also announced its selections for the $6 billion Clean Communities Investment Accelerator where the five selectees will establish hubs that provide funding and technical assistance to community lenders working in low-income and disadvantaged communities, providing an immediate pathway to deploy projects in those communities while also building capacity of hundreds of community lenders to finance projects for years.

Time for an update on the IRA home electrification upfront rebates. Some rebates are now available for low- and middle-income New Yorkers (up to $1,600 for air sealing, insulation, and ventilation; $8,000 for heat pumps, $2,500 for heat pump water heaters, $4,000 for electrical panel upgrades, and $2,500 for electrical wiring upgrades).

The Department of Energy has approved applications from 8 states (New Mexico, Hawaii, California, Washington, Arizona, Maine, Indiana, Rhode Island). The rebates will probably be available in most of those states by the end of the year.

A dozen more states (Oregon, Colorado, Minnesota, Michigan, Illinois, North Carolina, Georgia, New Hampshire, Massachusetts, Connecticut, Vermont, New Jersey) plus Washington DC have submitted their program applications to the Department of Energy. So they can expect their funding to be available a few months later, maybe in early 2025.

The remaining states will have to submit their applications by January of 2025 to meet the program deadline. They can then expect to receive the funding sometime later next year.

@Dana Nuccitelli, Thanks again for staying on top of this great info!

I was discussing the upfront rebates with a neighbor, and his concern was that contractors would just (collectively) raise their prices, so minimal savings would reach the consumer. He mentioned several solar contractors giving bids double what he thought was reasonable to get solar installed on his house. I've no idea how legit that claim is, but its a concern that has been gnawing in the back of my mind, too. In theory competition should manage this risk, but you know contractors in a given area chat with each other… Thoughts?

I would be very surprised if every contractor in a given area raised prices and none took advantage to undercut the rest, @Andy Willette. There's always that concern, like what if every car dealership just pockets most of the EV tax credit instead of lowering sticker prices? But that's generally not how markets work. Somebody is going to undercut the competition.

Somehow when I posted the latest update above, I failed to notice that Wisconsin is green! Meaning that the upfront rebates are now available to Wisconsinites. In fact, both the low- and middle-income HEEHRA/HEAR (Home Electrification and Appliance Rebates) and the HOMES program that anyone who improves the energy efficiency of their homes can apply for, are now available in Wisconsin! Also Michigan is now yellow (application approved) and Florida blue (application submitted). Canary Media has a story on the latest with these IRA programs.

New York got some of its IRA homeowner funds by applying them to its existing EmPower+ program for low-income families. "The agency said it had seen about a 30 percent increase in EmPower+ applications since the HEAR program rebates were announced."

Wisconsin has now received all of its federal IRA home electrification/efficiency funding, and will apply the HOMES funds through its existing Focus on Energy program.

To claim the rebates, program participants need to first get a home energy audit with a qualifying contractor. Then the homeowner can choose among different potential pathways the contractor provides for cutting energy use. Under the program, multifamily building owners can also qualify for hundreds of thousands of dollars in rebates … Wisconsin plans to launch its $74.8 million HEAR program, which DOE has approved, later this year.

As for the rest of the states, the Canary Media article includes this useful update:

Rewiring America’s Sachs, who has been closely tracking state updates, said that 15 more state energy offices plan to launch at least one of the two rebate programs by the end of the year and nine others aim to do so by the end of the first half of 2025. That’s the current snapshot, though she noted targets could certainly shift.

To help consumers stay on top of the latest offers, Rewiring America is updating its incentives calculator as states roll out rebates.

So basically if your state is in yellow in the map above, you can expect some rebates to become available by the end of this year. If your state is in blue, they will likely become available either toward the end of 2024 or in the first half of 2025. And most of the states in grey will probably be toward the end of 2025 🤓

In our latest update, we've learned that rebates are now available in Arizona, although just for heat pumps, for now, through its Efficiency Arizona program.

Initially, Arizona’s Efficiency Arizona (Home Electrification and Appliance Rebates (HEAR)) program, in partnership with regional community action agencies like Wildfire, will focus on providing heat pumps under an air-conditioning replacement program addressing heat relief emergencies and/or financial hardships. At this stage, lower- and moderate-income owners of single-family homes facing extreme heat may be eligible for up to a $4,000 to $8,000 rebate on new heat pumps.

Later this fall, Arizona plans to roll out the remainder of its HEAR program, which will provide lower- and middle-income homeowners and renters with up to $14,000 in rebates to upgrade equipment and appliances – ranging from insulation and heat pump water heaters to induction cooktops and heat pump clothes dryers … Arizona will launch its Home Efficiency Rebates (HOMES) program at a later date

Arizona isn't yet green on the Department of Energy's map, perhaps because this is just a partial implementation of the rebates. Since our last update, Tennessee and Delaware turned blue (application submitted to the DOE), and South Dakota has become the first state to decline participation in the IRA home electrification and efficiency rebate programs.

We have another update – home electrification and efficiency rebates are now available in New Mexico! You can read the Biden administration's announcement of this development here, and New Mexico residents can see what incentives they qualify for on the state Energy Conservation and Management page.

Also New Hampshire has moved from blue to yellow, indicating that their application has been approved by the Department of Energy, so the next step will be for the rebates to become available there in the coming months.

@Dana Nuccitelli
I am really appreciating this historical tracking of where we are in any given month. Our chapter hasn't had an opportunity to do electrification tabling until this month and next. In determining what materials to use, I called the number on the WorkMoney poster to find out what they had to say about electrification benefits. At first they said they had nothing, then after more digging, they had some info but only in NY and WI (which makes sense). I am wondering why we wouldn't specify with the WorkMoney poster that no other states will be listed in their directory for federal electrification funding until individual state programs are in place. Or would it be useful to give out that number for Californians (in our case) to check to see when that funding becomes available?

Another question has to do with the Rewiring America booklet that CCL provided as tabling material last year and which we used extensively. I am tempted to use it again because it basically maps out the HEERHA and HEAR benefits whenever they become available, but I see that at the bottom of the last page in incredibly small type it advocates for calling on congress to pass climate provisions from Build Back Better. Perhaps these materials are deemed outdated and no long offered on Community for Electrification tabling. Is that the case?

Are other electrification tablers dealing with the reality that the low and middle income basis for benefits is regional and quite specific? What numbers are they using? I can't find any more current figures for our county past 2022. Are those figures always a couple years behind? Should I assume that regional differences in median salary get taken into account in the various calculators we recommend to see how much they qualify for--obviating the need for us to supply any info like that?

Thanks!

Rhode Island today is the 5th state to make IRA upfront rebates available. Here's the announcement.

Rhode Island is launching its HEAR program — one of two programs making up the Federal Home Energy Rebate programs — in two phases.

Initially, Rhode Island will focus on issuing rebates to low-income households (defined as those earning 80% or less of their area median income) through six Community Action Partnerships (CAPs). These nonprofit agencies partner with the state of Rhode Island to administer energy efficiency programs, such as the long-standing Weatherization Assistance Program (WAP). (Rhode Island’s WAP program received $15 million, a more than 10-fold increase under President Biden’s Bipartisan Infrastructure Law.) CAP representatives will visit low-income households to conduct home assessments to determine household energy needs.

Rhode Island will use its HEAR program to offer rebates for measures not available through existing state programs. Eligible residents will be able to save up to:

• $4,000  for an electrical panel.
• $2,500  for electrical wiring.
• $840  for an electric stove, cooktop, range, or oven and/or an ENERGY STAR-certified electric heat pump clothes dryer.

The state has an existing rebate program for heat pumps and heat pump water heaters — the Clean Heat RI program.

And here's the latest map of rebate availability status:

@Dana Nuccitelli

It's great to see this progress.

Dana, I wrote you a message on this thread 9 days ago and haven't heard anything in response to the three questions so I'm reposting it here, hoping for some info before we do electrification tabling this weekend. Thanks and here goes again.

I am really appreciating this historical tracking of where we are in any given month. Our chapter hasn't had an opportunity to do electrification tabling until this month and next. In determining what materials to use, I called the number on the WorkMoney poster to find out what they had to say about electrification benefits. At first they said they had nothing, then after more digging, they had some info but only in NY and WI (which makes sense). I am wondering why we wouldn't specify with the WorkMoney poster that no other states will be listed in their directory for federal electrification funding until individual state programs are in place. Or would it be useful to give out that number for Californians (in our case) to check to see when that funding becomes available?

Another question has to do with the Rewiring America booklet that CCL provided as tabling material last year and which we used extensively. I am tempted to use it again because it basically maps out the HEERHA and HEAR benefits whenever they become available, but I see that at the bottom of the last page in incredibly small type it advocates for calling on congress to pass climate provisions from Build Back Better. Perhaps these materials are deemed outdated and no long offered on Community for Electrification tabling. Is that the case?

Are other electrification tablers dealing with the reality that the low and middle income basis for benefits is regional and quite specific? What numbers are they using? I can't find any more current figures for our county past 2022. Are those figures always a couple years behind? Should I assume that regional differences in median salary get taken into account in the various calculators we recommend to see how much they qualify for--obviating the need for us to supply any info like that?

Thanks!

Hi @Lynda Marin. I can't answer most of those questions. I would just tell people during tabling in California that the tax credits are already available and up-front rebates will probably become available in California within the next month or so, but we don't have them yet.

Regarding the local median income, just point people to the Rewiring America IRA savings calculator. It's built in there so you don't have to find that information yourself.

@Dana Nuccitelli
Thanks Dana. I just learned from Adam Klaus at Quit Carbon that when the IRA rebates do become available in CA, they will be directed solely for HVAC systems.

Hi @Lynda Marin . Yes, as Dana said, the Rewiring America calculator and broader portal at Electrify your home (rewiringamerica.org) is a great resource for many questions. Additonally, another CA-centric resource is Switch Is On - Why Switch to Electric. Some great fact sheets for tabling are at IRA fact sheets — Rewiring America | Rewiring America. Also some great resources from DOE at Homeowner and Renter Resources | Department of Energy (fact sheets under Key Resources) as well as Home Energy Rebates FAQs.

@William M. Musser IV
Thank you William. I had already pulled from a number of the resources you mentioned here to make a fact sheet specific to our area/county for the tabling we are doing this weekend. But a few of these are new, so I really appreciate your input.

@Lynda Marin Also I adapted a questionnaire that HeatSmart Alliance created (with their permission) that is available at

that can be a great tabling resource and conversation starter.

We have another update – some rebates are now available in California and Maine! Here's the press release for California.

Today, California is launching the first phase of its Home Electrification and Appliance Rebates (HEAR) program. The California Energy Commission is utilizing federal rebates to expand state-level incentives that TECH Clean California implements to support even more Californians save energy and save money.

• Starting today, eligible owners and agents of multifamily buildings can apply for federal rebates on a number of energy-efficiency and electric upgrades including heat pumps, electric panels and wiring, induction stoves, and more.
• And in the near future, California will expand its HEAR program to eligible single-family households.

And Maine's press release:

Available now: Efficiency Maine will use HEAR funding to offer rebates to:

• Low-income owners of manufactured homes (i.e., household income below 80% of area median income).
• Affordable multifamily new construction projects.

Eligible owners of manufactured homes could save as much as $14,000 thanks to HEAR funding, including up to:

• $8,000 for a whole-home heat pump for space heating and cooling.
• $4,000 for an electrical panel.
• $2,500 for electrical wiring.

These homeowners can visit the Efficiency Maine website and complete an eligibility screening.

So basically California is starting out prioritizing multi-family homes, and Maine with low-income homeowners and new multi-family construction, and then both states will expand the program in the future.

Georgia, North Carolina, Massachusetts, Vermont and Washington DC have also had their applications approved, so they've joined the next states in line (yellow) that should have rebates available within the next few months.

Since the last update about a month ago, a few more electrification rebate applications have been made available by the Department of Energy: Colorado, Michigan, Washington DC, and Georgia. Texas, Kentucky, and Pennsylvania have also now submitted their applications to DOE.

I believe that once the state applications are approved, legally they're not supposed to be canceled (if anyone has good information about this, let us know here!), and so in theory they should be protected in 2025. That's the green and yellow states – 20 in total, including DC. So it's important to keep these applications moving forward as expeditiously as possible, which I'm sure DOE is working hard to do right now.