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