The US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has chosen 60 winners for its $7 billion Solar for All program, which was launched in June 2023. The program aims to promote the use of solar pv energy among low-income households and disadvantaged communities. The selected winners will provide grants and low-cost financing to residential areas through both existing and new programs.
On April 22, 2024, US President Joe Biden celebrated Earth Day by announcing the recipients of the $7 billion Solar for All program. The program is designed to increase the adoption of residential solar energy among low-income households in the United States and is expected to result in the installation of over 4 gigawatts (GW) of solar energy capacity over the next 5 years.
The EPA initiated the $7 billion grant program in June 2023 to expand the accessibility of solar energy to low-income households and disadvantaged communities.
Out of the 60 selections made under the EPA call, a total of $5.5 billion has been allocated for 49 state-level awards, 6 awards for tribes totaling more than $500 million, and 5 multistate awards adding up to around $1 billion. The winners are listed on the EPA website.
The selected winners will serve households in all 50 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, and territories, and will also improve access to solar energy for tribes. The grants and low-cost financing allocated for the residential segment are intended to help overcome financial barriers to deployment, as well as challenges related to siting, permitting, and interconnection.
The EPA believes that this grant money will enable more than 900,000 households in low-income and disadvantaged communities to deploy and benefit from distributed solar energy, resulting in over $350 million in annual savings on their electricity bills for overburdened households.
EPA Administrator Michael S. Regan believes the program will help save $8 billion in energy costs for families, create jobs, and deliver clean air.
The Solar PV for All program is also expected to help the country achieve the Biden administration’s goal of a carbon pollution-free power sector by 2035 and a net-zero emissions economy by no later than 2050.
The awards for the selected applicants are expected to be finalized in the summer of 2024. The winners will begin funding projects through existing programs and launch new programs in the fall and winter of this year.
In recent times, the residential solar segment in the US has been facing slow demand with high interest rates, worsened by policy changes in California, the country’s strongest residential PV market. Installers have also reported interconnection and permitting delays.
According to Wood Mackenzie and the Solar Energy Industries Association (SEIA), while the residential solar segment reported record annual additions of 6.8 GW DC in 2023, it is expected to contract by 13% in 2024.
Source: Taiyang News