Now what about the EPA’s $7 billion Solar for All program?

In April, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) released a historic set of announcements that will dramatically change U.S. climate financing for years to come. Specifically, EPA announced $27 billion in competitive grants to 68 Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund (GGRF) awardees. These competitive awards cover all three programs under the GGRF and are estimated to collectively deliver the expected results 310 million metric tons reducing carbon dioxide emissions, implement $150 billion of private and public capital, and create hundreds of thousands of jobs during the first seven years of implementation of these programs.

GGRF Solar program for everyone

One of the three GGRF programs is $7 billion Solar for All (SFA) program under which 60 winners will receive grants to create new or expand existing low-income solar programs across the country. These awardees are expected to bring benefits to distributed solar energy low-income households in all 50 states, the District of Columbia, territories and tribal lands – saving consumers over $350 million on utility bills during the first five years of operation. SFA programs will deliver five “significant benefits”: (1) household energy savings of 20% or more; (2) equal access to solar energy; (3) resilience to power outages; (4) community property; (5) workforce development and entrepreneurship. For a more detailed overview of the SFA program, see Here.

While EPA is currently negotiating agreements with SFA awardees with the goal of beginning to spend SFA dollars later this fall/winter, there are still actions that can be taken by advocates, community organizations and project developers, local and state governments, and philanthropy. now to Maximize GGRF’s impact in your community. Below is a selection of tangible actions that stakeholders can take.