The US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced 60 selectees that will receive $7 billion in grant awards through the Solar for All grant competition to deliver residential solar projects to more than 900,000 households nationwide.

The grant competition is funded 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.

EPA estimates that the 60 Solar for All recipients will enable more than 900,000 households in low-income and disadvantaged communities to deploy and benefit from distributed solar energy. This $7-billion investment is estimated to generate more than $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 more than four gigawatts of solar energy capacity unlocked for low-income communities over five years.

Solar for All will expand existing low-income solar programs and launch new ones. The 60 selected applicants will serve households in all 50 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, and territories, as well as increase access to solar for Tribes. EPA has selected 49 state-level awards totaling approximately $5.5 billion, six awards to serve Tribes totaling more than $500 million, and five multistate awards totaling approximately $1 billion.

Solar for All will deploy residential solar for households nationwide by not only providing grants and low-cost financing to overcome financial barriers to deployment but also by providing services to communities to overcome other barriers such as siting, permitting, and interconnection.

EPA anticipates that awards to the selected applicants will be finalized in the summer of 2024, and selected applicants will begin funding projects through existing programs and begin expansive community outreach programs to launch new programs in the fall and winter of this year. Selections are contingent on the resolution of all administrative disputes related to the competitions.