The US Environmental Protection Agency recently announced a $7 billion funding wave for the Solar for All program, and the Georgia coalition received more than $156 million of that.
Solar for All is a function of President Biden’s clean energy agenda; the program itself was born out of the 2022 Inflation Reduction Act, which has already seen billions poured into energy security and climate change. Over 10 years, about 370 billion dollars have been allocated to these categories.
“This is a historic, first-time federal government investment in solar access for lower-income residents,” said Chris Carnevale, Director of Climate Advocacy at the Southern Alliance for Clean Energy (SACE).
The Georgia coalition that received the funding is led by Capital Good Fund, a nonprofit organization that uses its nonprofit status to get a direct-pay business tax credit to buy a rooftop solar system — something regular homeowners can’t do — and solar effectively increases its energy. available to low-income homeowners.
Prior to the announcement, Capital Good Fund had been testing a pilot program called Georgia BRIGHT since last year; now with additional federal funds, the success of this program will be expanded.
“The Georgia BRIGHT Communities Coalition strives to bring the benefits of solar energy to underserved communities in the state of Georgia,” the project description on the EPA website reads. “The coalition will accelerate the adoption of clean energy, reduce greenhouse gas emissions, create good jobs and ease energy burdens by expanding or creating many types of solar programs – the single-family rental program, the free direct installation program and the novel Community Benefit solar program.
The coalition is partnering with three Georgia cities, Atlanta, Savannah and Decatur, to meet their respective clean energy goals.
Carnevale has been working with SACE in the clean energy transition space for nearly 15 years. He said it’s not the first time the federal government has supported solar homeowners, but it’s focused on making sure low-income households have access to it, which sets the Solar for All program apart.
“With the Recovery Act, the Obama administration introduced federal solar tax credits, there is support for homeowners to go solar — typically about 30 percent of the cost of the system,” Carnevale said. “But the catch is that you have to have enough tax liability to take advantage of this tax credit – so if you’re one of those households without it, [tax liability] to the federal government, you haven’t been able to take full advantage of the value of this incentive. So hopefully this is an alternative type of investment for people with lower incomes to get solar.
He added that this makes the program both unique and unprecedented.
While solar is a big step forward, it’s also worth noting that the Inflation Reduction Act created other opportunities for homeowners to save money—namely, energy efficiency through Home Energy rebates. These rebates are implemented through the states and are not yet available, but are expected to be announced this year; Georgia’s concessions, in particular, will come through the Georgia EPD.
These rebates hope to encourage homeowners to purchase home improvements such as more energy-efficient appliances, HVAC systems, and insulation. The goal is to help homeowners save on energy costs by reducing energy consumption, while helping the country meet its clean energy goals and use less. fossil fuels.
Solar power tends to get a lot of hype – and rightly so, as it’s the first distributed energy source available to humans – but it’s important not to overlook the less “glamorous” fixes that can be made through opportunities like Home Energy Rebates.
“Everyone should always make their home as efficient as possible to reduce their energy needs before investing in solar as much as possible, because saving a kilowatt by having a well-insulated and tightly sealed home is cheaper and easier than generating a kilowatt with solar energy. ” said Carnevale.
Carnevale said that while $150 million is a huge, historic investment, it can only move the needle so far. Still, he and other clean energy advocates are excited to see how the funding will be used across the state.