Local governments across the United States are implementing clean energy projects that are made more affordable because of Federal Tax Credits newly available to local governments, non profits, schools and churches, through a mechanism called Direct Pay. The tool demonstrates the effectiveness of Direct Pay and the Federal Tax Credits, enables cities to showcase their leadership in clean energy deployment, and allows local governments to share their energy success stories. Currently, the Tracker showcases projects lead by local governments. We are actively tracking all Direct Pay projects, and will be expanding the Tracker’s scope as we collect more projects. 

Has your city used direct pay to support local projects? Share it by completing the form below or contacting us at info@climateprogramportal.org.

This tracker was developed in partnership between Atlas Public Policy, Climate Mayors, C40, and the Urban Sustainability Director’s Network (USDN). Thank you to UndauntedK12 and the Lighthouse Cohort Partner Organizations including Lawyers for Good Government (L4GG), the World Resources Institute (WRI), Electrification Coalition, the Southeast Sustainability Directors Network (SSDN), and the Government Finance Officers Association (GFOA) for their support collecting Direct Pay projects from local governments.

Methodology

The project data shown above has been volunteered by Direct Pay recipients across the country. It has been collected by Atlas Public Policy, the Urban Sustainability Directors Network, Climate Mayors, and C40 Cities, alongside Lighthouse Cohort members like Lawyers for Good Government and the World Resources Institute. If your community participated in the Lighthouse Cohort, your case manager will be working with you to capture these details. If you need help sharing your story, sign up for office hours. If you are trying to share a project at a school, please share your story with UndauntedK12. If you are trying to share a project at a hospital or community health center, please share your story with Practice Greenhealth. If you have a tax credit-supported project you would like to share, but did not use Direct Pay, please reach out to American Energy Stories.

The dashboard will be refreshed regularly to showcase new projects as they are submitted. Once you submit a project, it will be surfaced on the dashboard within 1 working week.

Community Benefits: All the projects above produce benefits, but some produce additional benefits to the community beyond the addition of new energy production or transportation infrastructure. These community benefits include: Climate Resiliency, Community Education, Emissions Reductions/Air Quality Benefits, Energy Affordability, Public Health Benefits, and Wealth Creation. Participants selected all that applied to their projects, so some projects contribute more than one community benefit.

Disadvantaged Communities: Communities with significant environmental, social, and/or economic burdens, as defined by the Climate & Economic Justice Screening Tool (CEJST). Disadvantaged Communities (DACs) are defined by census tracts, and represent areas that have been historically underinvested and overburdened by pollution. Federally Recognized Tribes, including Alaska Native Villages, are considered disadvantaged communities, whether or not they have land.

Energy Communities: Communities with a history of pollution or coal plant closures. This includes census tracts where there are 1) brownfields, 2) significant coal infrastructure, and 3) significant local jobs and tax revenue from the coal industry. This definition was published by the Interagency Working Group on Coal and Power Plant Communities and Economic Revitalization (Energy Communities IWG).

Climate Vulnerability: The Climate Vulnerability Index measures a community’s cumulative vulnerability to growing climate risks, based on its pre-existing, long-term health, social, environmental, and economic conditions. Low percentiles indicate relatively lower vulnerability to climate risk, while high percentiles indicate relatively higher vulnerability. This tool defines Climate Vulnerability using the U.S. Climate Vulnerability Index, developed by the Environmental Defense Fund, Texas A&M University, and Dark Horse Analytics.

Congressional Districts: Congressional Districts represent the 119th Congress’s House of Representatives.

Tax Credit Bonuses: There are four bonuses that increase the amount of a tax credit a project receives. They include the following.

  • Energy Communities Bonus – This bonus increases the tax credit a project qualifies for by 2 to 10 percent if it is located within an Energy Community. Energy communities encompass census tracts where there are 1) brownfields, 2) significant coal infrastructure, and or 3) significant local jobs and tax revenue from the coal industry. For more guidance on the Energy Communities Bonus or to see if a project is located in one, visit the Department of Energy’s map.
  • Domestic Content Bonus – This bonus increases the tax credit a project qualifies for by 2 to 10 percent if it was built with certain percentages of steel, iron or manufactured products that were mined, produced or manufactured in the United States. For more information on the Domestic Content Bonus review the IRS guidance.
  • Low Income Communities Bonus – This bonus increases the tax credit a project qualifies for if it is located in a low-income community or on Indian land. For more information on the Low Income Communities Bonus review the IRS guidance.
  • Prevailing Wage Apprenticeship Bonus – Meeting prevailing wage and apprenticeship requirements under the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022 can increase the base tax credit a project qualifies for by 5 times. For more information about the Prevailing Wage Apprenticeship Bonus review the Department of Labor guidance.

Total Tax Credits Claimed: The Total Tax Credits Claimed statistic is generated based on self-reported tax credit amount data. Not every project submitted tax credit amounts, and so, this statistic does not include every project shown on the map.

Greenhouse Gas Emissions: The Tons of CO2 reduced statistic is generated based on self-reported data. Not all projects submitted enough data to include them in the summary calculation at the top of the dashboard.