(AGENPARL) – lun 22 aprile 2024 Issued: Apr 22, 2024 (8:27am EDT)
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Biden-Harris Administration announces The Maine Governor’s Energy Office to
receive over $62 million to deliver residential solar, lowering energy costs
and advancing environmental justice across Maine
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 Maine
Governor’s Energy Office has been selected to receive $62,120,000 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.
Maine’s program (MESA) will use this funding for four financial assistance
program channels that comprehensively address the range of barriers faced by
low-income and disadvantaged households: single-family and multifamily on-site
solar programs as well as targeted support for cooperatively-owned community
solar. Energy storage is incorporated across all four channels to build
resilience and maximize value. MESA also proposes a holistic range of
technical assistance such as expanded workforce development opportunities,
siting and permitting supports, and additional support to overcome barriers
including interconnection challenges.
“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.”
The Maine Governor’s Energy Office 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.
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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