EPA Announces Illinois Finance Authority to Receive More Than $156 Million to Deliver Residential Solar, Lowering Energy Costs and Advancing Environmental Justice Through the Biden-Harris Administration
EPA announces selectees under Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund grant competition to deliver solar to low-income and disadvantaged households through the President’s Investing in America agenda
CHICAGO (April 22, 2024) - Today, as the Biden-Harris Administration celebrates Earth Day, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency announced Illinois Finance Authority has been selected to receive $156,120,000 through the Solar for All grant competition to develop long-lasting solar programs that enable low-income and disadvantaged communities to deploy and benefit from distributed residential solar. This award is part of the historic $27 billion Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund, which was created under President Biden’s Inflation Reduction Act to lower energy costs for families, create good-quality jobs in communities that have been left behind, advance environmental justice, and tackle the climate crisis.
Illinois's program will bring the benefits of solar energy to low-income and disadvantaged communities across the state. It will expand the existing Illinois Solar for All program and Adjustable Block Program/Illinois Shines with financial assistance, including grants and loans, to enable upgrades, incorporate energy storage, expand residential solar, support energy sovereignty and community-driven projects, and provide critical capital to disadvantaged solar vendors to grow their businesses and capabilities all while supporting health and safety. The technical assistance portion of this effort will improve and extend direct community engagement efforts to expand residential solar adoption, create tools for contractors to braid multiple funding streams, and support local governments to streamline the application and permitting process. The program will also leverage and build on Illinois’ soon-to-be-implemented clean energy workforce development programs to grow an equitable workforce.
“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.”
“Thanks to the Biden Administration’s commitment to addressing climate change and growing a clean energy economy, we are making great strides in advancing the United States’ clean energy future," said EPA Regional Administrator Debra Shore. "With today's exciting Solar for All announcement, we are not only bringing reliable solar energy to underserved communities throughout the Great Lakes region, but we are also creating a heathier, more sustainable and secure future for all Americans.”
“From day one, I have worked decisively to build an equitable clean energy future that works for everyone in Illinois. This was our north star in creating the Climate and Equitable Jobs Act. I thank President Biden and USEPA Administrator Regan for the federal resources through the Greenhouse Gas Reduction Act to help Illinois reach our equitable clean energy future,” said Governor JB Pritzker. “The State of Illinois looks forward to working with the USEPA to use finance to enable families, small businesses, communities, and many others to create our equitable clean energy future while ensuring that at least 40% benefits families in low-income and disadvantaged communities.”
Illinois Finance Authority is among 49 state-level awards EPA announced today totaling approximately $5.5 billion, along with six awards to serve Tribes totaling over $500 million, and five multistate awards totaling approximately $1 billion.
A complete list of the selected applicants can be found on EPA’s Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund Solar for All website.
EPA estimates that the 60 Solar for All recipients will enable over 900,000 households in low-income and disadvantaged communities to deploy and benefit from distributed solar energy. This $7 billion investment will generate over $350 million in annual savings on electric bills for overburdened households. The program will reduce 30 million metric tons of carbon dioxide equivalent emissions cumulatively, from over four gigawatts of solar energy capacity unlocked for low-income communities over five years. Solar and distributed energy resources help improve electric grid reliability and climate resilience, which is especially important in disadvantaged communities that have long been underserved.
Solar for All will deliver on the Biden-Harris Administration’s commitment to creating high-quality jobs with the free and fair choice to join a union for workers across the United States. This $7 billion investment in clean energy will generate an estimated 200,000 jobs across the country. All selected applicants intend to invest in local, clean energy workforce development programs to expand equitable pathways into family-sustaining jobs for the communities they are designed to serve. At least 35% of selected applicants have already engaged local or national unions, demonstrating how these programs will contribute to the foundation of a clean energy economy built on strong labor standards and inclusive economic opportunity for all American communities.
The Solar for All program also advances President Biden’s Justice40 Initiative, which set the goal that 40% of the overall benefits of certain federal climate, clean energy, affordable and sustainable housing, and other investments flow to disadvantaged communities that are marginalized by underinvestment and overburdened by pollution. All of the funds awarded through the Solar for All program will be invested in low-income and disadvantaged communities. The program will also help meet the President’s goal of achieving a carbon pollution-free power sector by 2035 and net-zero emissions economy by no later than 2050.
Review and Selection Process Information
The 60 applicants selected for funding were chosen through a competition review process. This multi-stage process included review from hundreds of experts in climate, power markets, environmental justice, labor, and consumer protection from EPA, Department of Energy, the Department of Housing and Urban Development, Department of Treasury, Department of Agriculture, the Federal Emergency Management Agency, Department of Labor, Department of Defense, Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, and the Department of Energy’s National Labs – all screened through ethics and conflict of interest checks and trained on the program requirements and evaluation criteria. Applications were scored and selected through dozens of review panels and an interagency senior review team.
EPA anticipates that awards to the selected applicants will be finalized in the summer of 2024. At that point, selected applicants will begin funding projects through existing programs and begin expansive community outreach to launch new programs. Selections are contingent on the resolution of all administrative disputes related to the competitions.
Informational Webinars
EPA will host informational webinars as part of the program’s commitment to public transparency. EPA has scheduled a public webinar for the Solar for All program, and registration details are included below. Information on other GGRF webinars can be found at EPA’s GGRF webpage.
- Solar for All webinar: Monday, April 29, 2024, 4:00pm – 4:30pm ET. Register for the April 29 meeting
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