$13m in municipal investment funds awarded to 52 US communities

According to the partners, the awards come at a critical moment when demand for power from data centres, electric vehicles and advanced manufacturing are straining US electricity capacity, raising utility bills and threatening blackouts. Traditional energy sources not only endanger the climate, they are more expensive and take longer to bring online. Applicants for MIF funding have made proposals that will help mitigate the energy crunch.

“Communities know what’s at stake,” said Saharnaz Mirzazad, executive director of ICLEI USA. “They’re moving on clean energy, not just to lower costs, but to protect residents’ health and build local resilience. With both funding and technical support, we are helping bring these projects to life. These projects boost energy security and ensure economic growth does not come at the expense of community wellbeing.”

“With demand for electricity rising, our organisation and local governments across the country agree that we need to deploy infrastructure immediately to meet the crisis. Smarter, smaller projects like the ones proposed here are the key to success.”

“With demand for electricity rising, our organisation and local governments across the country agree that we need to deploy infrastructure immediately to meet the crisis”

ICLEI USA and CGC will begin delivering technical assistance in July, helping local governments and their partners understand what it takes to build a market for projects that can win further financing. CGC and ICLEI USA are committed to mobilising public-private capital toward municipalities in all 50 states so they can modernise their grids, prevent widespread outages, and build resilient infrastructure that keeps communities safe and the economy running.

The Coalition for Green Capital (CGC) uses public-private investing to unlock clean air, clean water, clean jobs, and affordable power for all Americans. Green banks are a proven finance model that uses public capital to mobilise private investment in renewable energy, energy efficiency, and other decarbonisation technologies.

ICLEI – Local Governments for Sustainability USA (ICLEI USA), headquartered in Denver, Colorado, pioneered local government greenhouse gas management standards, including in the US with the highest emissions, to create jobs, reduce emissions, and empower local solutions by providing technical assistance, strategic planning, and federal grant support. ICLEI USA reports it has worked with more than 1,200 network cities, towns, counties, and Tribal nations in all 50 states.