Map Information

Energy Communities

Notice 2023-29, describes certain rules that the Treasury Department intends to include in the forthcoming proposed regulations for determining what constitutes an energy community and for determining whether a qualified facility, an energy project, or an energy storage technology is located in an energy community.

1. Brownfields: identified by the EPA as defined in subparagraphs (A), (B), and (D)(ii)(III) of section 101(39) of the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act of 1980 (42 U.S.C. 9601(39))). See section 3.02 of this notice for a description of this category of energy community. EPA State Brownfields and Voluntary Response Programs Search

2. Fossil Fuel Employment Energy Communities. This category includes an MSA or non-MSA that: 

    (i) has (or had at any time after December 31, 2009) 0.17 percent or greater direct employment (Fossil Fuel Employment) or 25 percent or greater local tax revenues (Fossil Fuel Tax Revenue) related to the extraction, processing, transport, or storage of coal, oil, or natural gas, and

    (ii) has an unemployment rate at or above the national average unemployment rate for the previous year

Fossil Fuel Employment includes people employed by the following industries and Appendix B and Appendix 1 contains the full list of qualifying MSAs and non-MSAs. 

    211: Oil and Gas Extraction

    2121: Coal Mining

    213111: Drilling Oil and Gas Wells

    213112: Support Activities for Oil and Gas Operations 

    213113: Support Activities for Coal Mining 

    32411: Petroleum Refineries

    4861: Pipeline Transportation of Crude Oil

Appendix 2 lists all the MSAs and non‐MSAs that qualify as energy communities in 2023 by meeting the Fossil Fuel Employment threshold and the unemployment rate requirement for calendar year 2022 

    The Fossil Fuel Tax Revenue criteria is currently not included in Treasury guidance given the lack of readily available data. 

3. Coal Closure Energy Communities. This category includes a census tract (or a census tract directly adjoining such census tract): (i) in which a coal mine has closed after December 31, 1999, or (ii) in which a coal-fired electric generating unit has been retired after December 31, 2009. See section 3.04 of this notice for a description of this category of energy community, which this notice refers to as the “Coal Closure Category. The list of eligible census tracts is available in Appendix C with additional tracts added to Appendix 3. 

Low Income Communities

Aligns with the federal NMTC program, the CDFI Fund published this list identifying NMTC-eligible census tracts.  Eligible communities have a poverty rate of at least 20% and/or a median family income that is at or below 80% of the applicable area median family income.

Treasury released Notice 2023-17 on Feb. 13, 2023, to establish the Low-Income Communities Bonus Credit Program. Notice 2023-17 provided initial guidance for potential applicants seeking allocations of calendar year 2023 environmental justice solar and wind capacity limitation.

The total annual Capacity Limitation of 1.8 GWdc capacity reserved for each facility category for calendar year 2023 is as follows:

    Category 1: Located in a Low-Income Community | 700 MWdc

    Category 2: Located on Indian Land | 200 MWdc

    Category 3: Qualified Low-Income   Residential Building Project | 200 MWdc

    Category 4: Qualified Low-Income   Economic Benefit Project | 700 MWdc

On May 31, 2023 the Treasury issued proposed regulations for applicants investing in certain solar and wind powered electricity generation facilities.

Treasury anticipates that Category 1 will receive the largest number of applications. Therefore, they propose to subdivide the 700 MW Capacity Limitation reservation for facilities seeking a Category 1 allocation with 560 megawatts reserved specifically for eligible residential behind the meter (BTM) facilities, including rooftop solar. The remaining 140 megawatts of Capacity Limitation would be available for applicants with front of the meter (FTM) facilities as well as non-residential BTM facilities.

Treasury also anticipates that the number of eligible applicants seeking an allocation may exceed the total Capacity Limitation allocation available. Treasury is proposing that at least 50 percent of the total Capacity Limitation in each facility category would be reserved for facilities meeting Additional Selection Criteria. 

1. The Ownership Criteria category is based on characteristics of the applicant that owns the qualified solar and wind facility. A qualified solar and wind facility would meet the Ownership Criteria if it is owned by a Tribal Enterprise, an Alaska Native Corporation, a renewable energy cooperative, a qualified renewable energy company meeting certain characteristics, or a qualified tax-exempt entity.
2. The Geographic Criteria category is based on where the facility will be placed in service. To meet the Geographic Criteria, a facility would need to be located in:
   • a Persistent Poverty County (PPC) or 
   • in a census tract that is designated in the Climate and Economic Justice Screening Tool (CEJST) as disadvantaged based on whether the tract is either (a) greater than or equal to the 90th percentile for energy burden and is greater than or equal to the 65th percentile for low income, or (b) greater than or equal to the 90th percentile for PM2.5 exposure and is greater than or equal to the 65th percentile for low income