Can the EPA really build a $27 billion green bank next year? An interview with Reed Hundt

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By Trey Thoelcke Updated Published
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Can the EPA really build a $27 billion green bank next year? An interview with Reed Hundt

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(Bill Sternberg is a veteran Washington journalist and former editorial page editor of USA Today.)

WASHINGTON, D.C. (Callaway Climate Insights) — Deep inside the new climate law enacted in August is a big-ticket item that has generated relatively little attention. The law creates a $27 billion greenhouse gas reduction fund, most of which appears headed for America’s first “national green bank” to finance clean-energy ventures.

Like regular banks, green banks expect to be paid back, but they have more access to public funding and more flexibility on repayment terms. Their loans are used to leverage private investments in solar power, heat pumps, electric vehicle chargers and other zero-emission projects, primarily at the community level.

The green-bank model has been considered successful in other nations, including Australia, Japan and the United Kingdom. In the United States, more than 20 states and municipalities have established their own green banks, which have combined nearly $2 billion in public money with more than $7 billion in private capital.

The $27 billion federal windfall could supercharge green bank lending, and it “will help vault the United States into a leadership role” by causing as much as $250 billion in total investment, says Raya Salter, founder of the Energy Justice Collective…

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Photo of Trey Thoelcke
About the Author Trey Thoelcke →

Trey has been an editor and author at 24/7 Wall St. for more than a decade, where he has published thousands of articles analyzing corporate earnings, dividend stocks, short interest, insider buying, private equity, and market trends. His comprehensive coverage spans the full spectrum of financial markets, from blue-chip stalwarts to emerging growth companies.

Beyond 24/7 Wall St., Trey has created and edited financial content for Benzinga and AOL's BloggingStocks, contributing additional hundreds of articles to the investment community. He previously oversaw the 24/7 Climate Insights site, managing editorial operations and content strategy, and currently oversees and creates content for My Investing News.

Trey's editorial expertise extends across multiple publishing environments. He served as production editor at Dearborn Financial Publishing and development editor at Kaplan, where he helped shape financial education materials. Earlier in his career, he worked as a writer-producer at SVE. His freelance editing portfolio includes work for prestigious clients such as Sage Publications, Rand McNally, the Institute for Supply Management, the American Library Association, Eggplant Literary Productions, and Spiegel.

Outside of financial journalism, Trey writes fiction and has been an active member of the writing community for years, overseeing a long-running critique group and moderating workshop sessions at regional conventions. He lives with his family in an old house in the Midwest.

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