WASHINGTON — One day after President-elect Donald Trump railed against federal clean energy investments, the U.S. Treasury Department announced a final rule to expand a program for zero-emissions technologies in low-income communities. 

Designed to increase clean energy investments that will decrease home energy costs for low-income households, the rule expands the list of eligible green technologies for the Clean Electricity Low-Income Communities Bonus Credit program from wind and solar to hydropower, geothermal, nuclear and hydrokinetic systems.

What You Need To Know

  • The U.S. Department of the Treasury announced a final rule to expand a program for zero-emissions technologies in low-income communities

  • The Clean Electricity Low-Income Communities Bonus Credit program is designed to increase clean energy investments that will decrease home energy costs for low-income households

  • The new rule expands the list of eligible green technologies from wind and solar to include hydropower, geothermal, nuclear and hydrokinetic systems

  • The first two years of the program have generated $7.5 billion in public and private investment and offset an estimated $620 million in annual energy costs

“Expanding the Clean Electricity Low-Income Communities Bonus Credit will help lower energy costs in communities that have been overlooked and left out for too long and empower developers to work alongside communities to provide tailored solutions to meet their energy and economic needs,” Deputy Treasury Secretary Wally Adeyemo said in a statement Wednesday. 

During the first two years of the program, approved applicants generated $7.5 billion in public and private investment and offset an estimated $620 million in annual energy costs, the department said.

The Treasury will open applications for the 2025 program year on Jan. 16.