Multifamily Housing and the Better Buildings 2024 Progress Report

The US Dept. of Energy (DOE) recently released its 2024 Progress Report for the Better Buildings initiative—an annual publication that highlights the achievements of the initiative and its partners by sector. The Better Buildings initiative (BB) aims to improve energy efficiency and advance decarbonization across the nation’s various building sectors. BB helps organizations reduce their energy use, lower operational costs, …

Setting a Course for the Fast-Evolving Incentives Landscape

Influencing vs. Merely Accessing Available Funding Programs By Ravi Malhotra Originally published in NH&RA’s Tax Credit Advisor, May 2024   Government agencies are still racing to get their Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) and Bipartisan Infrastructure Law (BIL) funds out the door, and they remain open to input from various stakeholders to help guide this process. In advocating for increased investment …

Multifamily Housing building

Pulling Federal Investment into Multifamily Housing

By Ravi Malhotra Originally published in NH&RA Tax Credit Advisor, February 2024 Most federal and state agencies aiming to spend their Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) and Bipartisan Infrastructure Law (BIL) funds for residential clients are finding out that it will not be easy. Most do not think of multifamily affordable housing when they design their residential programs. In focusing on …

Clean Energy for All: Optimizing Beneficial Electrification for Customers

Originally published in AESP’s Energy Intel Magazine – Q4 2023 Issue “Beneficial electrification” involves transitioning customers away from energy-inefficient and harmful appliances such as gas- and propane-based HVAC, water heaters, cook stoves, and clothes dryers (and even resistance electric systems), to better, high-efficiency, solutions such as heat pump HVAC and Water heaters and induction cook stoves. While this can reduce …

New Resource to Help Multifamily Affordable Housing Access Funds for Projects

By Ravi Malhotra, Originally published in NH&RA Tax Credit Advisor, January 2024 The Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) and Bipartisan Infrastructure Law (BIL) are providing the best business case ever, for “greening” multifamily affordable housing (MFAH). Between the massive amounts of new funding and the growing pressure to decarbonize your MFAH properties, “business as usual” designs or retrofit solutions are rapidly …

Clean Energy Projects: Looking Ahead to 2024

Clean Energy Projects: Looking Ahead to 2024  By Ravi Malhotra, Originally published in NH&RA Tax Credit Advisor, December 2023    At the close of 2023, it’s a certainty that the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) and Bipartisan Infrastructure Law (BIL) are catalyzing a huge uptick in clean energy projects across the United States. Unfortunately, it’s equally certain that the multifamily affordable …

Heat Pump Installations Slow, Impeding Biden’s Climate Goals

By Santul Nerkar and Madeleine Ngo  Originally published in The New York Times, Nov. 9, 2023  More Americans are buying heat pumps, an environmentally friendly alternative to furnaces and air-conditioners that can significantly lower monthly energy bills. But the pace of installations has slowed in the past year, posing an obstacle to the Biden administration’s climate plans.  Rising interest rates and inflation combined …

Case Study: IRA, BIL Bringing Big Pots of Money to Green Affordable Housing

By Mark Fogarty  NH&RA November 2023 If Timed Right, Financial “Braiding” Techniques May Cover Whole Cost of Retrofits There’s a brave new world of opportunities for “green” multifamily affordable housing renovation and development coming with the ever-quickening ascendancy of green buildings. This is according to one of the early adopters of clean energy solutions in multifamily, Ravi Malhotra. New pots of money …

Tying it All Together

Tying it All Together Timing and Key Considerations for Green Funds and Programs By Ravi Malhotra, NH&RA Tax Credit Advisor, November 2023 Federal agencies have steadily made progress in rolling out the new funds from the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) and Bipartisan Infrastructure Law (BIL). Multifamily property owners can fold these dollars into capital stacks for projects that incorporate solar and …

Accessing Utah’s Home Energy Rebate Programs

by Ryan Kristoff The U.S. Dept. of Energy (DOE) recently announced that States can apply for their funding allocations through the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA)-created Home Energy Rebate programs. Utah’s Office of Energy Development (OED) will administer the funds in Utah. Once the program is underway, multifamily affordable housing (MFAH) will be able to receive rebates of up to $14 thousand per …