The US Environmental Protection Agency lately introduced that it’s sending $7 billion {dollars} in a wave of funding for the Solar for All program, and the Georgia coalition has acquired greater than $156 million of it.
Solar for All is a operate of President Biden’s clear power agenda; this system itself was born from the Inflation Reduction Act from 2022, which noticed billions poured into power safety and local weather change. Nearly $370 billion has been allotted for these classes in complete over the course of 10 years.
“This is a historic, first-time funding from the federal authorities into photo voltaic power entry for low-income residents,” mentioned Chris Carnevale, Southern Alliance for Clean Energy’s (SACE) Climate Advocacy Director.
The Georgia coalition receiving the funding is led by the nonprofit Capital Good Fund, which makes use of its standing as a nonprofit to acquire a direct-payment industrial tax credit score for the acquisition of a rooftop photo voltaic system — a one thing that standard owners cannot do – and successfully make photo voltaic much more. accessible to low earnings owners.
Before the announcement, the Capital Good Fund has been testing a pilot program known as Georgia BRIGHT since final yr; now, with extra federal funding, the success of that program will be expanded.
“The Georgia BRIGHT Communities Coalition seeks to convey the advantages of photo voltaic power to poor communities throughout the state of Georgia,” reads the venture description on the EPA’s web site. “The coalition will speed up clear power adoption, scale back greenhouse fuel emissions, create good jobs, and ease power burdens by increasing or establishing extra sorts of photo voltaic packages – a single-family lease program, a free direct set up program, and a novel “Community. Benefit from the “photo voltaic program.”
The coalition contains partnerships with three cities in Georgia, Atlanta, Savannah, and Decatur, for funding and seeking to advance their respective clear power objectives.
Carnevale has been working with SACE within the clear power transition house for almost 15 years. He mentioned this isn’t the primary time the federal authorities has supported owners to go photo voltaic, however the particular emphasis is on ensuring low-income households even have entry to it. is what units the Solar for All program aside.
“There has been assist for owners to go photo voltaic because the Obama administration with the Recovery Act, which put federal tax credit for photo voltaic — often about 30 % of the fee for the system,” he mentioned. mentioned Carnevale. “But the underside line is that you need to have sufficient tax legal responsibility to make use of that tax credit score – so if you happen to’re in households that do not have that. [tax liability] with the federal authorities, you can not totally make the most of the worth of that incentive. So hopefully, that is another kind of funding to get photo voltaic power for folks with low earnings.
He added that this makes this system distinctive and unprecedented.
While photo voltaic is a superb step ahead, it must also be famous that the Inflation Reduction Act creates different methods for owners to economize as effectively – specifically, power effectivity by means of Rebates Home Energy. These rebates are administered by the states and should not but obtainable, however are anticipated to be introduced this yr; Georgia rebates, specifically, come by means of the Georgia EPD.
These rebates hope to permit owners to buy extra energy-efficient home equipment, HVAC techniques and residential enhancements resembling insulation, with the aim of serving to owners which might get monetary savings on power payments by decreasing power consumption, whereas serving to the nation advance its clear power objectives and use much less. fossil gas.
Solar tends to get a whole lot of pleasure – and rightfully so, being the primary distributed power useful resource obtainable to people – however it’s vital to not overlook the much less “glamorous” fixes. which will be achieved by means of alternatives resembling Home Energy Rebates.
“Everyone ought to at all times make their house as environment friendly as attainable to scale back their power wants earlier than investing in photo voltaic if attainable, as a result of it’s cheaper and simpler to avoid wasting a kilowatt by having one well-insulated and hermetic home than it could generate a kilowatt with photo voltaic,” mentioned Carnevale.
And whereas $150 million is a big, historic funding, it could solely transfer the needle to date, Carnevale mentioned. Still, he and different clear power advocates are excited to see how the funding will likely be used throughout the state.
