Janet Yellen Secretary of the Treasury | Twitter Website
The U.S. Department of the Treasury and Internal Revenue Service (IRS) have announced that applications for the 2024 Program Year of the Low-Income Communities Bonus Credit Program will open at 9:00 a.m. ET on May 28, 2024. The program, created under President Biden’s Inflation Reduction Act, offers up to a 20-percentage point credit boost for projects in low-income and Tribal communities.
All applications submitted within the first 30 days will be treated as submitted simultaneously, ensuring equal opportunity for all applicants. After this initial period, the Department of Energy (DOE) will continue to accept applications on a rolling basis.
Additionally, it was announced that approximately 325 megawatts of available capacity will roll over to the 2024 program year. This increase adds to the annual capacity of 1.8 gigawatts, making over 2.1 gigawatts available in 2024 to stimulate further investment and advance President Biden’s Investing in America Agenda.
In preparation for the application opening, Treasury and DOE will host a public webinar about the application process on May 16, 2024 at 1:00 p.m. ET.
President Biden’s Inflation Reduction Act has already catalyzed construction of clean energy facilities across various communities by providing a significant boost to investment tax credits for qualified solar or wind facilities in low-income areas.
U.S. Deputy Secretary of the Treasury Wally Adeyemo commented on this initiative saying, “This groundbreaking incentive is creating jobs and opportunity while lowering energy costs for communities that were long underinvested in.”
John Podesta, Senior Advisor to the President for International Climate Policy also praised the program stating that it is "already boosting access to clean, reliable power in underserved communities."
The Low-Income Communities Bonus Credit Program annually allocates capacity through competitive application across four categories of qualified solar or wind facilities with maximum output of less than five megawatts. According to the final regulations, at least 50% of the capacity limitation in each category will be made available to facilities that meet additional selection criteria.
The IRS will allocate the total capacity for the 2024 program year, including the 324.8 megawatts of available capacity announced today that will roll over, as follows:
- Category 1: Located in a Low-Income Community - 800 megawatts
- Category 2: Located on Indian land - 200 megawatts
- Category 3: Qualified Low-Income Residential Building Project - 224.8 megawatts
- Category 4: Low-Income Economic Benefit Project - 900 megawatts
