“Solar for All” Applications Forecast Monumental Expansion of Low-Income Solar Market – New Report

The Clean Energy States Alliance (CESA) has published a report summarizing trends and calculating the potential impact of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s $7 billion Solar for All competition. This report, Empowering Tomorrow: A Preview of States’ Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund Solar for All Programs, provides the first public look into the range of state proposals that have been submitted in response to this competition. 

For this report, CESA received exclusive access to the Solar for All applications submitted in 33 states, the District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico. The report paints an exciting picture: if funded, the 35 applications analyzed would deploy 2,917 megawatts of solar capacity, providing $2 billion in savings for 711,068 low-income households over the next five years. CESA’s report includes additional data, such as how much energy storage could be installed, breakdowns by market sector, and much more. 

“The Solar for All competition represents an investment in solar for disadvantaged communities, the scope and scale of which has not been seen before,” explains CESA Senior Project Director Vero Bourg-Meyer. "For some states, this is an acceleration of work they have supported, with much more modest resources and variable levels of success, for years. For others, it is an entirely new endeavor, now enabled by the IRA." 

“Solar for All would bring a significant investment into Virginia by providing access to affordable and clean energy,” said Carrie Hearne with Virginia Energy’s State Energy Office. “Lowering the cost of residential solar projects could lead to coinciding investments that increase job growth in many Commonwealth communities that are due an economic boost.”

“New Mexico has laid a strong foundation for a clean-energy future, as we advance toward a statewide goal of 100% carbon-free electricity by 2045,” said New Mexico State Energy Office Director Rebecca “Puck” Stair. “However, many of our state’s low-income residents, particularly in rural and tribal communities, have not had access to renewable energy resources. With Solar for All, we can help remedy that inequity.”  

"While Washington enjoys some of the lowest electric rates in the country, over a quarter of our low-income households are energy burdened, spending more than 6% of their household income on energy bills," said Washington State Energy Office Director Michael Furze. "With Solar for All, we can both expand access to clean energy and also reduce the electric bills for these households statewide. In addition, Washington's proposal strengthens partnerships with tribal nations in supporting their clean energy goals."

CESA’s report can serve as a market readiness tool, to help states prepare for a massive and historic influx of LMI solar funding. 

“What we observed in the proposed state programs is a balance of ambition and pragmatism to deploy the funding within the timeframe allotted by Congress, with consideration given to local priorities and local barriers,” said Bourg-Meyer. 

CESA offers technical assistance to states and organizes state convenings to accelerate learning about LMI solar programs and the opportunities regarding Solar for All across the country. We welcome all states to participate. Resources from CESA, including template documentation, guidance for program design, best practices relevant to consumer protection for state programs, and much more, are available on CESA’s Scaling Up Solar resource page. 

Government officials and green bank staff can sign up to receive email updates from CESA related to the Solar for All program by completing this form: https://forms.office.com/r/FxusQA1sk5. 

Clean Energy States Alliance | www.cesa.org