The EPA just gave rooftop solar a $7 billion boost

The latest Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund money has been allocated — and it’s set to pour $7 billion of federal funding into low- and middle-income solar programs. 

• The top line: The money will be split between 60 grant awardees, who together are set to deliver residential solar to over 900,000 low-income and disadvantaged households nationwide, the Environmental Protection Agency announced today. The program promises to add over four gigawatts of solar to the grid over the next five years — and to bring down greenhouse gas emissions to the tune of 30 million metric tons of carbon dioxide equivalent. 
• The nuts and bolts: Over 200,000 jobs are expected to stem from the investment, which will rely in part on the federal Climate Corps green jobs program. And with over 35% of the grant selectees already partnering with regional or national labor unions, the Biden administration emphasized that the program is expected to build out equitable job pathways and develop local clean energy workforces in communities that have been left behind.
• The market grounding: The $27 billion GGRF was created by the Inflation Reduction Act. Earlier this month, the Biden administration allocated $20 million of the fund toward the creation of a national green financing system. Of the $7 billion devoted to the Solar for All program, $5.5 billion will be dedicated to state-level awards, and another billion to five multistate awards. Approximately $500 million spread between six grants is devoted to tribal communities. 

Rooftop solar can both provide customers with cheap energy and can help ensure grid reliability. But it is wealthier, white communities that are most likely to take advantage of the technology. 

One study found that Hispanic- or Black-majority neighborhoods consistently have less rooftop solar and other distributed energy resources installed than white-majority neighborhoods. And high upfront installation costs can make the technology out of reach for many low- and middle-income homeowners and renters in particular. 

The just-announced Solar for All program aims to bring the benefits of residential solar to communities that have historically been overlooked in clean energy deployment. It will fund new low-income solar programs in at least 25 states and territories that currently lack substantial low-cost residential solar options.

According to the EPA, the program is expected to save low- and middle-income families over $350 million every year in electricity costs; expand access to solar energy in all 50 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, and other territories; and help build out solar in tribal communities ranging from Alaska to Arizona.

Beyond the grants for residential rooftop and community solar deployment, the Solar for All program also provides awardees with technical assistance. Funding can be used for anything from grid interconnection support and permitting to community education and outreach, as well as for “enabling upgrades” such as building upgrades for energy efficiency. 

Coupled with the GGRF’s other two programs — the $14 billion National Clean Investment Fund and the $6 billion Clean Communities Investment Accelerator — Solar for All is part of the IRA’s largest non-tax investment into the clean energy economy.