Missoula Takes $250K From Coalition Facing EPA Fraud Probe to Plan Climate Projects

MISSOULA — The City of Missoula has secured a $250,000 grant to plan what they describe as “clean energy projects” through a public-private partnership that includes Clearwater Credit Union, Missoula County, Climate Smart Missoula and Missoula Economic Partnership.

The grant, from the Coalition for Green Capital’s Municipal Investment Fund, will be used to identify potential clean energy projects and create a plan to attract funding for their implementation. Missoula was one of 50 communities nationwide selected for the award.

The initiative aims to build what officials called a “pipeline of finance-ready clean energy projects” that would later require additional investment to implement.

The Coalition for Green Capital was created in conjunction^1 with the 2008 Obama-Biden Transition Team and received a $5 billion grant^2 from the EPA’s National Clean Investment Fund, part of the Biden administration’s Inflation Reduction Act. In early 2025, the EPA under the Trump administration froze the organization’s grants^3 and attempted to terminate them, citing concerns about fraud and conflicts of interest. A federal judge blocked the termination^4 in March, and the freeze remains subject to ongoing litigation.

Before the freeze, the Coalition for Green Capital disbursed nearly $2.7 billion^5 to private equity firms including Brookfield Asset Management, Apollo Global Management and Energy Capital Partners.

The grant comes as Missoula faces fiscal constraints. The city approved its 2026 budget with an operating deficit in September, while Missoula County property tax bills reflected significant increases in October.

Mayor Andrea Davis said the grant would “build a pipeline of finance-ready clean energy projects that will protect health and cut costs for Missoulians.” She called it “an important step forward in our work to make Missoula stronger, more sustainable and more affordable for everyone.”

The partnership marks a notable commitment by Clearwater Credit Union to climate-focused financing at a time when many financial institutions nationally have stepped back from such initiatives.

Paul Herendeen, vice president of Sustainability at Clearwater Credit Union, said the credit union was “excited to help bring the benefits to Montana.” He said investing in renewable energy and energy efficiency “can save Montanans money, make our homes healthier and more comfortable, and support local jobs.”

Grant Kier, CEO of Missoula Economic Partnership, said the grant “helps us bring partners together, attract private investment, and move high-impact projects from ideas to reality.”

Missoula County Commissioner Juanita Vero said clean energy solutions “often save a lot of money over time, paying for themselves multiple times over, but it can be hard to find the upfront investment dollars to get them started.”

This is the second recent partnership between local government and Climate Smart Missoula. In June, the city and county partnered with the nonprofit to measure street surface temperatures using grant funding.

The Municipal Investment Fund is a partnership between the Coalition for Green Capital and Local Governments for Sustainability USA.

Richard Kauffman, CEO of the Coalition for Green Capital, said the organization was “honored to provide funding to communities across the United States under the MIF program so they can take initial steps toward bringing America clean, affordable energy.”

Saharnaz Mirzazad, Executive Director of ICLEI USA, said “these awards show how public-private partnerships can lead to real progress on energy, infrastructure and economic resilience.”

The grant announcement left several questions unanswered about how the planning process will translate into actual projects. Who will fund the projects once they are identified? Will taxpayers be asked to fund implementation of the clean energy projects? And how does this initiative fit with the city’s deficit budget and county tax increases? The partners said they will work with stakeholders across the community to identify potential projects and develop the public-private partnership plan.