Key takeaways
- President Biden and U.S. Environmental Protection Agency announced $7 billion in grant funding for 60 recipients under EPA’s Solar for All program.
- Solar for All program recipients propose residential solar projects spanning entire country and are expected to receive funds by September 30, 2024, with deployment of funds through existing and new programs to follow.
- Entities selected for SFA grant awards as well as contractors and subrecipient partnering organizations will be subject to applicable EPA policies and overarching federal procurement regulations and requirements; they should seek legal counsel to advise on and ensure compliance.
Overview of awards
On April 22, 2024, President Biden announced $7 billion in federal grants that will be awarded through the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) Solar for All program (SFA). This program is a component of the 2022 Inflation Reduction Act’s $27 billion Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund. EPA has selected 60 governmental, tribal and nonprofit entities that will receive SFA grant awards to deliver residential solar projects to an estimated 900,000 households nationwide.
Section 134(a)(1) of the Inflation Reduction Act allocated $7 billion in funding for the SFA program as part of the Inflation Reduction Act’s broader Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund. Under SFA, EPA will not fund projects directly but will provide grants to 60 selected recipients. Recipients will then provide funding support for the projects, including through subawards and contracts. EPA anticipates that awards will be made by the statutory deadline of September 30, 2024. Once awards are successfully made, recipients will begin funding approved projects, either through existing programs or new ones they help develop and launch.
Scope of awards
SFA will provide funding to a wide range of residential rooftop and solar projects that benefit individuals and families in underserved communities nationwide, in addition to providing technical assistance to small businesses, nonprofit organizations and other stakeholders to deploy residential solar projects. Collectively, the 60 SFA recipients have proposed programs that cover all 50 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico and U.S. territories. Tribal communities will receive over $500 million (7% of funding) to improve access to programs that reduce energy costs and deliver electricity during outages. According to EPA:
- 90% of selectees plan to fund residential rooftop solar projects.
- 88% of selectees plan to fund the deployment of residential-serving community and shared solar projects through diverse ownership models.
- 78% of selectees plan to fund storage solution projects.
Conclusion
EPA expects SFA recipients to begin launching their programs over the next year and partner with a range of organizations to deploy funding. EPA plans to provide additional information on selected recipients once awards are finalized later this year, and recipients will publish information regarding their program strategies and requirements. The entities selected for SFA grant awards as well as organizations interested in partnering with them as subrecipients or contractors will be subject to EPA policies and overarching federal procurement regulations and requirements. Recipients and prospective subrecipients and contractors should seek legal counsel to advise on and ensure compliance with applicable requirements.
Client Alert 2024-085