Full Title: New Banking Regulations to Boost Renewable Energy Investment in Low-and-Moderate-Income Areas
Author(s): American Council on Renewable Energy (ACORE), CohnReznick
Publisher(s): American Council on Renewable Energy (ACORE), CohnReznick
Publication Date: February 22, 2021
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Description (excerpt):
What if a change in Community Reinvestment Act (CRA) rules could simultaneously address two important renewable sector concerns, providing greater access to renewable power for those in low- and moderate-income (LMI) communities and attract new interest from tax equity investors? And what if the change has already been made, and the new rules take effect on April 1?
This is no April Fool’s joke. Last fall, the nation’s top banking regulator revised CRA regulations to create new regulatory incentives for renewable energy investment in LMI communities. Starting April 1, 2021, the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) will allow banks to prove compliance with the CRA by financing renewable projects in LMI communities. Undertaken as part of an effort to modernize the administration of the CRA, a 1977 law, this change should make renewable development in LMI communities more attractive to investors.