Affordable housing resources

Louisville Metro Government (LMG) was selected in 2021 to participate in the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) Communities Local Energy Action Program (Communities LEAP). As part of Communities LEAP,, the city received technical assistance around designing sustainability programs that are accessible to and directly benefit low-income and historically disadvantaged residents. Namely, the 100% clean energy by 2040 goal was born out of the Communities LEAP project. As of 2024, LMG was awarded an additional prize from the DOE’s energy program “Buildings Up”. The Buildings Upgrade Prize will build on this work and support equitable community engagement, outreach, and the dissemination of best practices in partnership with the Metropolitan Housing Coalition and Kentuckians for The Commonwealth. Stay tuned for more information!

The Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) is landmark legislation that plans to lower energy costs, increases cleaner production, and reduces carbon emissions by roughly 40 percent by 2030. American families are projected to save $27-38 billion ($1,000/family) on their electricity bills from 2022-2030 relative to a scenario without the Inflation Reduction Act, according to the Department of Energy (DOE). The IRA also plans to advance Justice 40 Initiatives – ensuring that 40% of the overall benefits of certain Federal climate, clean energy, affordable and sustainable housing, and other investments flow to disadvantaged communities that are marginalized by underinvestment and overburdened by pollution.

IRA specific programs targeting energy burdens:

• Home Electrification and Appliance Rebates allocate funding to state energy offices for helping households electrify their homes. Available only to low- or moderate-income households. States must design the program, and the sooner states design the programs, the quicker that funding will become available.
• The Home Efficiency Rebate Program incentivizes whole-home retrofits in single-family and multifamily dwelling units. Rebate amounts increase as energy savings increase and are doubled for low-income households.
• The Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund will make grants to nonprofit financial institutions, states, and Tribes to drive low-cost financing for climate and clean-energy projects, especially in disadvantaged communities. It sets aside $7 billion for Solar-for-All, a program to expand existing or support new low-income solar programs nationwide.