​EPO will be administering two IRA-funded rebate programs for low to moderate income households. The rebate amounts and income eligibility limits are set by the IRA legislation. The Home Efficiency Rebates Program will allow states to incentivize whole-house energy savings retrofits for homeowners. The Home Electrification & Appliance Rebate Program will consist of point-of-sale consumer discounts on the purchase of high-efficiency electric home appliances.

On July 27, 2023, DOE released the Home Energy Rebate Program guidance. Utilizing this guidance, EPO is currently working to design the rebate programs specifically for Pennsylvanians. Upon design completion and subsequent DOE approval of the programs, the Home Energy Rebates will be open to Pennsylvania residents. EPO anticipates that the rebates will be available to Pennsylvania residents in early-2025.

Interested in learning more about Pennsylvania’s Home Energy Rebates or providing feedback? Register for one of our public information sessions: In-person (October 15-17, 2024): https://bit.ly/3YgbG6h. Virtual (October 24, 2024): https://bit.ly/4eBhAVk

If you are a resident and have questions on Home Energy Rebates and/or would like to receive updates on Pennsylvania’s Home Energy Rebate programs, please send an e-mail to RA-EPHomeEngRebates@pa.gov.

Interested businesses, trade associations, and non-profits are welcome to join PA DEP’s Home Energy Rebate Community of Interest (CoI) to receive updates on key program design elements prior to program launch in early-2025 by contacting Taylor Lightman, Energy Programs Office, at (717) 705-2222 or tlightman@pa.gov

​(All tax credits mentioned below are effective for the 2023 calendar year)

These programs will be managed through IRS tax credits. Please check with your tax advisor and the Department of Treasury’s IRA Taxpayer Resource Hub for further details:

• New Energy Efficient Home Credit:
• Tax credit for homebuilders.
• $2,500 for new homes meeting Energy Star standards; $5,000 for certified zero-energy ready homes. For multifamily, base amounts are $500 per unit for Energy Star and $1000 per unit for zero-energy ready.

• Residential Clean Energy Credit (including Solar):
• Provides a 30% tax credit for the purchase of residential clean energy equipment, including rooftop solar, wind, geothermal, and battery storage with capacity of at least 3 kWh.

• Energy Efficient Home Improvement Credit:
• Provides a tax credit for energy-efficiency improvements of residential homes.
• Base Credit Amount: 30% of cost, with limits for each type of improvement and total per year. Credit capped at $600 for “energy property,” e.g. efficient heating and cooling equipment; $600 for windows; $250 per door, $500 total for doors; $2,000 for heat pumps. Total annual credit capped at $1,200, with a separate annual $2,000 limit for heat pumps. $150 credit for home energy audits.

• Clean Vehicle Credit (Electric Vehicles):
• Provides a maximum $7500 tax credit for consumers purchasing new qualifying clean vehicles, including battery electric, plug-in hybrid, or fuel cell electric vehicles.
• Vehicle must meet certain standards for North American assembly; the battery’s components must meet certain standards for manufacturing or assembly; and the battery’s critical minerals must meet certain requirements for sourcing or processing in the United States or from trusted trade partners.

• Previously-Owned Clean Vehicles Credit:
• Provides a maximum $4000 tax credit to support used vehicle buyers who choose to go electric.

• A full list of tax incentives from the Inflation Reduction Act can be found here. (Excel)

​As part of the IRA, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is administering a new grant program to combat damaging climate pollution. The Climate Pollution Reduction Grants (CPRG) program will use the funding to provide grants to states, local governments, tribes, and territories to develop climate action plans and implement projects to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and other air co-pollutants. This program aims to achieve three objectives:

• Tackle damaging climate pollution while supporting the creation of good jobs and lowering energy costs for families.
• Accelerate efforts to address environmental injustice and empower community-driven solutions in overburdened neighborhoods.
• Deliver cleaner air by reducing harmful air pollution in places where people live, work, play, and go to school.

By reducing these GHG emissions and other air pollutants, we can reduce the human impact on the environment and improve health outcomes related to climate hazards. EPA’s CPRG program has two funding phases: planning and implementation.

Phase I: Planning Grants

During the planning phase, the commonwealth will develop climate action plans that identify emissions reduction measures. The program requires developing two plans, a Priority Climate Action Plan and a Comprehensive Climate Action Plan. The content of these plans will overlap broadly and include an inventory of greenhouse gas emissions, quantified emissions reduction measures, and benefit analysis for affected populations. PA DEP has received $3 million in Federal grants to fund the creation of a Priority Climate Action Plan (PCAP) by March 1, 2024, and a Comprehensive Climate Action Plan (CCAP) by July 1, 2025.

The PCAP includes ways to reduce GHG emissions that could be put into effect quickly. The PCAP also includes GHG reductions that are a priority for Pennsylvania communities and businesses, focusing on strategies for the industrial sector.

Pennsylvania’s PCAP was submitted to the EPA on March 1, 2024. The PCAP is available here.

The CCAP will build on the PCAP to include a broad list of GHG reduction strategies that could be used in Pennsylvania and include analyses that will help assess the benefits and impacts of these strategies.

Analyses will be conducted in the following areas:

• A benefits analysis for reductions of GHGs and co-pollutants (e.g., carbon monoxide, ground-level ozone and precursors, diesel and other particulate matter, nitrogen dioxide, and sulfur dioxide)
• A benefits analysis for Low-Income and Disadvantaged Communities
• Quantified GHG reductions
• A workforce planning analysis

PA DEP will coordinate closely with municipal CPRG recipients (Delaware Valley Regional Planning Commission, Leigh Valley Planning Commission, Southwestern Pennsylvania Commission) to conduct robust outreach and engagement. PA DEP will include all interested parties, such as state and local agencies, industry stakeholders, the public, and individuals living in communities with environmental justice concerns. Air pollution control agencies and municipalities that do not receive a planning grant directly may participate as a collaborating entity.

Public outreach began in Fall 2023 and continue through the end of the CPRG Planning Phase in 2027.

Stakeholder Engagement: — make your voice heard:

As a part of our engagement process, DEP will host meetings in communities around the state to convene with residents, learn about their needs and climate concerns, and incorporate their priorities into its plans. Stakeholder and public outreach began in Fall 2023 and continue through the end of the CPRG Planning Phase in 2027.

Input for climate action strategies can also be submitted through DEP’s Climate Opinion Survey Platform.

Please send an email to RA-EP-CPRG@pa.gov with questions about the program.

Phase II: Implementation Grants

In September 2020, U.S. EPA announced the second phase of the Climate Pollution Reduction Grant (CPRG) program, which includes two competitions totaling $4.6 billion: (1) a general competition for applications from states, municipalities, tribes, tribal consortia, and territories; and (2) a competition only for tribes, tribal consortia, and territories.

These implementation grants are open to entities that received planning grants to develop Priority Climate Action Plans (PCAPs) under phase 1 of the CPRG program, 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.

Applications for these competitive grants are due by April 1, 2024. GHG reduction measures must be included in a PCAP to be considered for an Implementation Grant. Review Pennsylvania’s PCAP here to ensure your project is covered by an implementation grant.

Eligible Entities

State and territorial agencies, municipalities, air pollution control agencies, tribes/tribal consortia.

• Individual Applicant
  • Single entity leading design and implementation of the measures.
• Coalition
  • Two or more eligible applicants with strong and substantial commitment such that withdrawal by one member would fundamentally alter project outcomes.
  • Coalition applications must include a Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) signed by all coalition partners demonstrating mutual commitment to project.

U.S. EPA’s press release can be found here, and more information is available here.