U.S. President Joe Biden marked Earth Day 2024 by unveiling $7 billion in grant funding for solar power under the Inflation Reduction Act. He also announced new steps to stand up his administration’s American Climate Corps – a program popular with youth climate groups.
“As president, I’ve seen the devastating toll of climate firsthand,” Biden said, speaking of wildfires, floods, storms and deadly heat. “Despite the overwhelming devastation in red and blue states, there are still those who deny the climate is in crisis. They want to take us backwards. I’m determined – absolutely determined that we move forward.”
Available through the Environmental Protection Agency, the $7 billion Solar for All program will provide grants to states, territories, tribes, municipalities and nonprofits to help develop solar programs for low-income households and disadvantaged communities.
“Energy costs are among the biggest costs for families to budget, particularly for middle-income families,” Biden said. “In fact, low-income families can spend up to 30% of their paychecks on their energy bills.”
The Biden administration estimates Solar for All will help 900,000 low-income households access solar power and save $400 annually in utility bills while cutting 500 million metric tons of carbon pollution each year. The program is also expected to create up to 200,000 jobs.
Solar for all grants
Biden-Harris administration and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency announced 60 selectees that will receive $7 billion in grant awards through the Solar for All grant competition to deliver residential solar projects to over 900,000 households nationwide. EPA estimates that the 60 Solar for All recipients will generate over $350 million in annual savings on electric bills for overburdened households.
The grant competition is funded by President Biden’s Investing in America agenda through the Inflation Reduction Act, which created EPA’s $27 billion Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund.
The 60 selections under the $7 billion Solar for All program will provide funds to states, territories, Tribal governments, municipalities, and nonprofits across the country to develop long-lasting solar programs that enable low-income and disadvantaged communities to deploy and benefit from distributed residential solar, lowering energy costs for families, creating good-quality jobs in communities that have been left behind, advancing environmental justice and tackling climate change.
“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.”
“Solar is the cheapest form of electricity—and one of the best ways to lower energy costs for American families,” said John Podesta, Senior Advisor to the President for International Climate Policy. The EPA’s Solar for All awards mean that low-income communities, and not just well-off communities, will feel the cost-saving benefits of solar.
“Residential solar electricity leads to reduced monthly utility bills, reduced levels of air pollution in neighborhoods, and ultimately healthier communities, but too often low-income and disadvantaged communities have been left out. Today’s announcement will invest billions to ensure that affordable housing across the U.S. can access solar and increase energy efficiency and climate resilience,” said U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) Acting Secretary Adrianne Todman.
“Sunlight is powering millions of homes across the nation, and we’re working hard to ensure Americans everywhere can benefit from this affordable clean energy resource,” said U.S. Secretary of Energy Jennifer M. Granholm.
“The United States can and must lead the world in transforming our energy systems away from fossil fuels,” said U.S. Senator Bernie Sanders. “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.”
Biden and other lawmakers, including Sens. Bernie Sanders of Vermont, Ed Markey of Massachusetts, and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York, delivered remarks in Virginia’s Prince William Forest Park, a site developed by President Franklin Delano Roosevelt’s Civilian Conservation Corps, on which the American Climate Corps is modeled.
“In the midst of a depression, President Roosevelt called on the American people to come together, to take on the challenge and unlock the opportunity that sat inside of that– the opportunity to heal, to lift folks up, and to move America forward,” White House National Climate Adviser Ali Zaidi said.
