Biden administration announces $7 billion residential solar grant program

The Biden administration on Wednesday announced a $7 billion grant competition to expand access to residential solar energy in low-income communities.

The funding, paid for by the Inflation Reduction Act’s (IRA) $27 billion Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund, will cover up to 60 grants, according to an Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) press call Wednesday. Activities covered by the grants will include development of technical and financial assistance to install residential solar in communities receiving the awards.

The EPA said the grants will guarantee savings of at least 20 percent on electric bills for households that benefit. Applications will be open to states, municipalities, territories and tribal governments through Sep. 26.

“For too long, overburdened communities on the front lines of the climate crisis have been left behind and locked out of clean energy investments and climate solutions,” EPA Administrator Michael Regan said at a briefing in Waterbury, Vt., accompanied by Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.).

“All communities deserve to participate in America’s growing clean energy economy and under this competition, we will bring more communities along, working together to build a healthier and cleaner future for all,” he added.

Sanders sponsored the inclusion of the program in the IRA and has long called for its speedy implementation.

In December, at a meeting of the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee, the Vermont senator voted to advance the nomination of Joe Goffman, President Biden’s nomination to lead the EPA’s air office, but said he would not back him in the full Senate without a written commitment that the full $7 billion would go toward installation of residential solar.

The panel advanced Goffman’s nomination this April, but it has yet to receive a full Senate vote.

“At a time when people are struggling to make ends meet, all while dealing with the existential threat of climate change, we must make residential rooftop solar a reality for low-income and working families that need it most,” Sanders said at the briefing Wednesday.