(AGENPARL) - Roma, 22 Aprile 2024 - (AGENPARL) – lun 22 aprile 2024 Issued: Apr 22, 2024 (8:17am EDT)
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Biden-Harris Administration announces Connecticut Department of Energy and
Environmental Protection to receive nearly $62.5 million to deliver
residential solar, lowering energy costs and advancing environmental justice
across Connecticut
EPA announces selectees under Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund grant competition
to deliver solar to low-income and disadvantaged households through the
President’s Investing in America agenda
BOSTON (April 22, 2024) – Today, as the Biden-Harris Administration celebrates
Earth Day, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency announced the Connecticut
Department of Energy and Environmental Protection has been selected to
receive $62,450,000 through the Solar for All grant competition to develop
long-lasting solar programs that enable low-income and disadvantaged
communities to deploy and benefit from distributed residential solar. This
award is part of the historic $27 billion Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund, which
was created under President Biden’s Inflation Reduction Act to lower energy
costs for families, create good-quality jobs in communities that have been
left behind, advance environmental justice, and tackle the climate crisis.
Project SunBridge will reach low-income and disadvantaged community households
across the state of Connecticut, with a priority focus on affordable housing
units, to allow for greater access to residential solar, increased resilience
and grid benefits, and investments in quality jobs and businesses. The program
has the potential to reach thousands of additional households through
Connecticut’s existing solar and storage programs, avoiding CO2 emissions
and saving Connecticut residents on energy costs. Connecticut residents will
benefit from financial assistance with increased incentives, more accessible
loans, and low-cost capital for solar and storage, as well as technical
assistance for clean energy workforce development and community engagement.
This blend of financial and technical assistance will create a sustainable
funding stream for low-income and disadvantaged communities households to
participate in the green economy, which will last beyond the SFA funding
years, attract private investment, and drive market transformation.
“Today we’re delivering on President Biden’s promise that no community
is left behind by investing $7 billion in solar energy projects for over
900,000 households in low-income and disadvantaged communities,” said EPA
Administrator Michael S. Regan. “The selectees will advance solar energy
initiatives across the country, creating hundreds of thousands of good-paying
jobs, saving $8 billion in energy costs for families, delivering cleaner air,
and combating climate change.”
“Today, across the United States, we are celebrating more than just Earth
Day; we are celebrating Solar for All—a significant step forward in our
commitment to equitable energy access and environmental justice,” said EPA
New England Regional Administrator David W. Cash. “Household utility bill
savings, clean energy jobs, greenhouse gas reductions—that is what today’s
announcement will mean to thousands of communities across New England and the
country. Whether it’s installing community solar arrays to power
manufactured housing in New Hampshire, heating affordable housing units in
Connecticut, or supporting Tribal communities to participate in solar energy
ownership without barriers—our selectees in each of our six New England
states have developed residential solar projects that bring household savings
and clean energy to communities that have been overburdened or disadvantaged
for far too long.”
“I applaud President Biden for designing a program that delivers the
affordability and resiliency advantages of solar energy to homes and
communities that deserve further investment,” said Connecticut Department of
Energy and Environmental Protection Commissioner Katie Dykes. “We are
grateful for the support of our Congressional delegation, whose championing of
the Inflation Reduction Act means we now have the resources to help more
Connecticut residents save money with clean energy opportunities, and to
create a sustainable funding stream that will allow low-income residents to
participate in the green economy during the Solar for All program term and
beyond.”
The Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection is among 49
state-level awards EPA announced today totaling approximately $5.5 billion,
along with six awards to serve Tribes totaling over $500 million, and five
multistate awards totaling approximately $1 billion.
In addition, Connecticut is home to Inclusive Prosperity Capital, Inc., which
was selected to receive $249,300,000 to deploy residential solar in multiple
states. Led by Inclusive Prosperity Capital, Inc., the Community Power
Coalition (CPC)’s SFA program, “Powering America Together,” will integrate
with, support, and expand the impact of the U.S Department of Energy’s
National Community Solar Partnership and Community Power Accelerator program
with a goal of delivering meaningful benefits for Americans in low-income and
disadvantaged communities through community solar projects. The program will
support the development of low-income community solar projects, reduce carbon
emissions, generate energy cost savings, and promote quality jobs, community
wealth-building, community energy resilience, and equitable workforce
development. CPC’s program will advance solar development in states where
community solar markets are beginning to develop, including through a pool of
“race to the top” CPC financing that incentivize states to reduce
regulatory barriers. CPC members include experienced community solar experts
who have worked with the Community Power Accelerator as developers, lenders,
trainers and technical assistance providers, as well as members that bring
expertise in workforce development, entrepreneurship in low-income and
disadvantaged communities, affordable housing, and policy. Based in
Connecticut, Inclusive Prosperity Capital’s program will operate in at least
44 states nationwide.
“We are thrilled to be chosen for the EPA’s Solar For All program and to lead
the Community Power Coalition,” said Kerry O’Neill, CEO of Inclusive
Prosperity Capital, Inc. “Our coalition is made up of top leaders in their
respective fields including Black Owners of Solar Services, Clean Energy
Group, Coalition for Community Solar Access, Community Housing Capital, GRID
Alternatives, Interstate Renewable Energy Council, People’s Solar Energy
Fund, ROC USA, and the University of New Hampshire Carsey School Center for
Impact Finance. The Community Power Coalition is eager to build a movement of
community-based solar developers who are committed to providing significant
benefits to low-income and disadvantaged communities. We are grateful to EPA
for the opportunity to be part of this historic investment to bring the
benefits of solar to communities all across the county.”
A complete list of the selected applicants can be found on EPA’s Greenhouse
Gas Reduction Fund Solar for All website.
EPA estimates that the 60 Solar for All recipients will enable over 900,000
households in low-income and disadvantaged communities to deploy and benefit
from distributed solar energy. This $7 billion investment will generate over
$350 million in annual savings on electric bills for overburdened households.
The program will reduce 30 million metric tons of carbon dioxide equivalent
emissions cumulatively, from over four gigawatts of solar energy capacity
unlocked for low-income communities over five years. Solar and distributed
energy resources help improve electric grid reliability and climate
resilience, which is especially important in disadvantaged communities that
have long been underserved.
Solar for All will deliver on the Biden-Harris Administration’s commitment
to creating high-quality jobs with the free and fair choice to join a union
for workers across the United States. This $7 billion investment in clean
energy will generate an estimated 200,000 jobs across the country. All
selected applicants intend to invest in local, clean energy workforce
development programs to expand equitable pathways into family-sustaining jobs
for the communities they are designed to serve. At least 35% of selected
applicants have already engaged local or national unions, demonstrating how
these programs will contribute to the foundation of a clean energy economy
built on strong labor standards and inclusive economic opportunity for all
American communities.
The Solar for All program also advances President Biden’s Justice40
Initiative, which set the goal that 40% of the overall benefits of certain
federal climate, clean energy, affordable and sustainable housing, and other
investments flow to disadvantaged communities that are marginalized by
underinvestment and overburdened by pollution. All of the funds awarded
through the Solar for All program will be invested in low-income and
disadvantaged communities. The program will also help meet the President’s
goal of achieving a carbon pollution-free power sector by 2035 and net-zero
emissions economy by no later than 2050.
The 60 selected applicants have committed to delivering on the three
objectives of the Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund: reducing climate and air
pollution; delivering benefits to low-income and disadvantaged communities;
and mobilizing financing to spur additional deployment of affordable solar
energy. Solar for All selected applicants are expanding existing low-income
solar programs and launching new programs. In at least 25 states and
territories nationwide, Solar for All is launching new programs where there
has never been a substantial low-income solar program before. In these
geographies, Solar for All selected applicants will open new markets for
distributed solar by funding new programs that provide grants and low-cost
financing for low-income, residential solar.
Review and Selection Process Information
The 60 applicants selected for funding were chosen through a competition
review process. This multi-stage process included review from hundreds of
experts in climate, power markets, environmental justice, labor, and consumer
protection from EPA, Department of Energy, the Department of Housing and Urban
Affairs, Department of Treasury, Department of Agriculture, the Federal
Emergency Management Agency, Department of Labor, Department of Defense,
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, and the Department of Energy’s
National Labs – all screened through ethics and conflict of interest checks
and trained on the program requirements and evaluation criteria. Applications
were scored and selected through dozens of review panels and an interagency
senior review team.
EPA anticipates that awards to the selected applicants will be finalized in
the summer of 2024, and selected applicants will begin funding projects
through existing programs and begin expansive community outreach programs to
launch new programs in the fall and winter of this year. Selections are
contingent on the resolution of all administrative disputes related to the
competitions.
Informational Webinars
EPA will host informational webinars as part of the program’s commitment to
public transparency. EPA has scheduled a public webinar for the Solar for All
program, and registration details are included below. Information on other
GGRF webinars can be found on EPA’s Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund Engagement
Opportunities webpage.
Solar for All webinar: Monday, April 29, 2024, 4:00pm – 4:30pm ET. Register
for the April 29 meeting
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