Biden Announces $7 Billion in Solar Grants on Earth Day
President Biden has announced $7 billion in federal grants for residential solar projects that will serve over 900,000 households in low- and middle-income communities. The grants are part of the American Climate Corps green jobs training program and are expected to reduce emissions by the equivalent of 30 million metric tons of carbon dioxide.
The grants were awarded by the Environmental Protection Agency and include $62,120,000 for the Maine Governor’s Energy Office.
The grants can be used for investments such as rooftop solar and community solar gardens. They come from the Solar for All program, part of the $27 billion “green bank” created as part of a sweeping climate law passed in 2022.
The green bank is intended to reduce climate and air pollution and send money to neighborhoods most in need, especially disadvantaged and low-income communities disproportionately impacted by climate change.
EPA Deputy Administrator Janet McCabe said she was “looking forward to these funds getting out into the community, giving people skills, putting them to work in their local communities, and allowing people to save on their energy bills so that they can put those dollars to other needs.”
Among those receiving grants are state projects to provide solar-equipped roofs for homes, college residences, and residential-serving community solar projects in West Virginia, a non-profit operating Mississippi solar lease program, and solar workforce training initiatives in South Carolina.
The taxpayer-funded green bank has faced Republican opposition and concerns over accountability for how the money gets used. EPA previously disbursed the other $20 billion of the bank’s funds to nonprofits and community development banks for clean energy projects such as residential heat pumps, additional energy-efficient home improvements, and larger-scale projects like electric vehicle charging stations and community cooling centers.
