Biden-Harris Administration announces Vermont Department of Public Service to receive nearly $62.5 million to deliver residential solar, lowering energy costs and advancing environmental justice across Vermont

Publilshed by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)

BOSTON (April 22, 2024) – Today, as the Biden-Harris Administration celebrates Earth Day, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency announced Vermont Department of Public Service 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.

Solar for All Vermont’s (SAV) mission is to lower the cost of electricity for low-income and disadvantaged Vermonters through the ownership of solar arrays—maximizing greenhouse gas emission reductions and solar market development in the process. SAV will provide the incentives, organizational structures, and program policies needed to install thousands of solar systems on the roofs of low-income and disadvantaged homeowners, on the roofs and sites of managed permanently affordable apartment buildings, and as residential-serving community arrays that will provide meaningful benefits to the homeowners, affordable housing residents, and renters. Additionally, greenhouse gas savings will be maximized with the installation of battery storage systems and electrical systems upgrades, which will allow homeowners to displace fossil-fueled back-up generators and to adopt other greenhouse gas saving appliances like cold climate heat pumps. SAV will have long-term impact by stimulating additional solar development beyond its initial period of performance by establishing revolving loan funds and financing programs that will leverage private capital and other greenhouse gas reduction programs in Vermont.

“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 United States can and must lead the world in transforming our energy systems away from fossil fuels,” said U.S. Senator Bernie Sanders (VT). “The Solar for All program—legislation that I successfully introduced—will not only combat the existential threat of climate change by making solar energy available to working class families, it will also substantially lower the electric bills of Americans and create thousands of good-paying jobs. This is a win for the environment, a win for consumers, and a win for the economy.”

“This funding will be a huge boost for Vermont as we transition to clean, renewable energy, at a speed and cost that our most vulnerable citizens can bear,” said Vermont Governor Phil Scott. “Solar for All Vermont will fund affordable pathways that enable low-income households to access and share in the benefits of solar power. I thank the EPA for their partnership and confidence in our state.”

Vermont Department of Public Service 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 Development, 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.

Read the full article at: https://www.epa.gov/newsreleases/biden-harris-administration-announces-vermont-department-public-service-receive-nearly

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