News from the feds regarding the Inflation Recovery Act and Governor Newsom’s ban on the sale of gas vehicles in 2035 have been getting much media attention lately. Meanwhile, the California Legislation has just passed a massive $53.9B state budget that includes a historic $19.3B Climate-Energy Package.
Last Sunday, the legislature released the Climate-Energy Package, a portion of the state budget. One of the budget’s key components is $1.3 billion in funding to upgrade and decarbonize homes and schools in the State. The multi-year effort will support the transition to electric heat pumps and other decarbonization efforts. The budget allocates funds to increase the adoption of heat pumps, address the global warming impacts of refrigerants, create community resilience centers, support weatherization programs, and provide zero-emission school HVAC systems. It also includes funding to ensure tenants, like farm workers, are protected from extreme heat.
The biggest news related to clean energy contractors is that $145M of these funds is dedicated to the TECH incentive program, which depleted its original $50M bucket of incentives earlier this year.
For a detailed breakdown, check out this Aug 30, 2022, press release from our friends at the Building Decarbonization Coalition (BDC).
The TECH Clean California Rebate Program Gets More Funds
After many anxious delays, the Governor has signed a massive state budget. We have anticipated the budget would provide funding to continue to support the TECH incentive program, which encourages the adoption of heat pump technology. The legislation includes additional funding for TECH, allocating $145M to the program.
The big question is, when will these funds be available for homeowners and contractors? To find out, I reached out to our friends at Energy Solutions, the program implementor for TECH. The following is the official statement they provided.
“Earlier this week we received news that additional funding for TECH Clean California will be provided through the California Energy Trailer Bill. We applaud the State for its continued commitment to building decarbonization investments, and we are very excited that TECH was included. We are currently working to understand the specifics of the funding – when it will be available and how it can be utilized. The TECH team will be announcing more details within the next couple of weeks and will solicit feedback from our stakeholders, program participants, and partners. Please stay tuned for more information very soon”.
Obviously, this information is hot off the press, and we will need to see how things shake out over the next couple of weeks. More funding for TECH is good news for contractors, homeowners, and the environment. We will keep you informed as we learn more of the specifics.
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