- Brownfield Sites: These are areas defined under the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act of 1980 (CERCLA), specifically those designated as brownfield sites.
- Metropolitan Statistical Areas (MSAs) and Non-Metropolitan Statistical Areas (Non-MSAs): These areas qualify if they meet two criteria:
- They have had at least 0.17% of their employment directly related to the extraction, processing, transport, or storage of fossil fuels after 2009.
- Alternatively, if they have derived at least 25% of their local tax revenues from fossil fuel activities after 2009.
Additionally, the area must have an unemployment rate at or above the national average for the prior year.
- Census Tracts with Coal Mine Closures or Coal-Fired Electric Generating Unit Retirements: These include census tracts where coal mines closed after December 31, 1999, or coal-fired electric generating units were retired after December 31, 2009. Directly adjoining census tracts are also included.
The IRA provides bonus tax credits to projects located in these energy communities to support transition to renewable energy.
Original article by NenPower, If reposted, please credit the source: https://nenpower.com/blog/how-does-the-inflation-reduction-act-define-an-energy-community/
