Image by Alex Csiki from Pixabay
April 23, 2024 - WASHINGTON, D.C. — On Monday, as Californians celebrate Earth Day, U.S. Senator Alex Padilla (D-Calif.) announced that he secured $249,800,000 for California’s Solar for All project to help deliver residential solar for low-income and disadvantaged communities across the state. The funding, announced today by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), comes from the Inflation Reduction Act’s Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund as part of the EPA’s Solar for All grant competition.
California’s Solar for All program will bring together a coalition of state entities to help reach homes and businesses across the state that are most in need of affordable, reliable clean energy. The coalition will leverage the state’s historic leadership on solar energy and this new funding to build new programmatic capacity and expand current efforts to lower energy costs, increase access to residential solar energy, and advance strategies to address future market conditions amid California’s decarbonization efforts.
“California has long been a national leader in solar power production and storage, but for too long, the benefits of residential solar have been limited to high-income households and new developments,” said Senator Padilla. “This significant investment in California’s Solar for All project will slash energy costs for low-income communities, create good-paying jobs, and build toward California and the nation’s ambitious renewable energy goals.”
The Solar for All funding will help California add at least 247 megawatts of solar and 425 megawatt-hours of associated storage in low-income and disadvantaged communities. This will double the amount of solar energy in low-income multifamily complexes and contribute an annual average of 29.2 percent in household bill savings for over 158,000 participating households.
Senator Padilla has secured millions for California renewable energy projects, including solar projects. Earlier this year, Padilla sent a letter to EPA Administrator Michael Regan to advocate for the approval of California’s Solar for All grant application. Last year, he announced $7 million in funding from the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law for five projects across California to strengthen the domestic solar supply chain. He also previously led a letter urging Senate leadership to include a direct pay option for residential renewable energy property tax credits to help low- and moderate-income households install solar energy systems. In 2022, Padilla introduced the Airport Energy Resiliency and Renewable Energy Act, legislation aimed at helping airports invest in renewable generation resources like solar panels, battery storage systems, and microgrids. He also introduced the Clean Energy for All Homes Act in 2021 to help families and homeowners afford solar roof paneling and other renewable energy technology installations to save money on their energy bills.
Source: Senator Alex Padilla
