A competitive grant program to bring solar energy to low-income Americans has found huge demand in the South.
This week, Alabama, Georgia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, and Virginia, as well as other tribal governments, municipalities, and nonprofits, applied for Solar for All, a new program designed to expand access to solar energy.
I’m glad to see enthusiasm for this financing in Southern states, which have traditionally lagged behind the rest of the country in residential solar while many households struggle to pay their electric bills.
Gudrun Thompson, Head of SELC’s Energy Programme
As part of landmark federal climate legislation, the Inflation Reduction Act, passed last summer, the $7 billion program will finance rooftop solar projects that benefit low-income communities and provide workforce development to enable millions of families to access… To affordable, flexible and clean solar energy. Related jobs. These funds have the potential to double the number of rooftop solar customers with 100% cost-effective solar benefiting customers who would otherwise not have access to solar.
“This is a generational opportunity to empower low-income households in the South with access to affordable, resilient and clean solar energy,” said Gudrun Thompson, head of SELC’s energy program. “I am pleased to see enthusiasm for this financing in Southern states, which have traditionally lagged behind the rest of the country in residential solar while many households struggle to pay their electricity bills.”
Saving energy costs for low-income families
Nowhere is the need for this program greater than in the South, where low-income families and communities of color often lack access to financing for solar projects and are burdened by high energy bills and pollution from fossil fuel power plants, while Political and regulatory barriers further limit access to solar energy.
“This funding could tip the balance for Southern households burdened by high energy bills and lacking access to clean, reliable, affordable energy.” said Alice Campany, Climate Initiative Leader at SELC. “This funding is essential to not only expanding renewable energy, but also making it cost-effective for Southerners who need it most.”
Low-income households in the South have been disproportionately excluded from our nation’s clean energy transition — they face an average energy burden three times higher than middle- and upper-income households, and their path to solar adoption is often hindered by policy barriers and roadblocks. Political. Initial costs.
Solar for All will directly alleviate the high energy burden – that is, households that spend more than 6% of their income on energy bills. The programs aim to provide a monthly minimum of 20% of the average local utility bill. Program funds should be used to help low-income communities. This, combined with lower solar costs, could lower utility bills for families, especially Southern black and brown families who bear some of the highest energy burdens in the country.
This funding is key to not only expanding renewable energy, but also making it cost-effective for Southerners who need it most.
Alice Campany, SELC Climate Initiative Leader
These grants also complement billions in funding available for energy efficiency improvements, building code updates, and energy storage systems that will make solar energy an effective and affordable way to address the climate crisis and reduce families’ energy bills.
A comprehensive approach to expanding access to solar energy
EPA looks to fund long-term, permanent programs that go beyond financial assistance. This includes providing additional services, including workplace development, consumer education and outreach, and project development. These transformative tools will help overcome barriers to solar deployment, while creating good-paying jobs in our communities.
Many state plans will include workforce development programs, and will also bring new clean energy jobs to their states. The solar industry has grown at an average annual rate of 33 percent over the past decade, and financing Solar for All will not only help boost the industry, but also ensure its economic benefits are more equitably distributed.
how SELC Works to form solar energy for all programs
Throughout the South, utility and state policies remain pivotal to widespread solar adoption, and SELC continues to advocate at the federal, state and local levels for communities to make decisions on their own properties that enable them to take control of their energy use and lower their monthly bills.
Increasing access to solar energy will lower energy costs for households by providing cheaper energy in the long term, create good quality jobs in communities that have been left behind, promote environmental justice by easing energy burdens, and address the climate crisis by reducing emissions and Energy costs. Our dependence on fossil fuels for energy.
