Biden to Announce $7 Billion in Rooftop Solar Grants to Power Nearly 1 Million Households

Solar panels are installed on the rooftop of a low-income household in Pomona, California on Oct. 19, 2023. Mario Tama / Getty Images

Why you can trust us

Founded in 2005 as an Ohio-based environmental newspaper, EcoWatch is a digital platform dedicated to publishing quality, science-based content on environmental issues, causes, and solutions.

President Joe Biden will celebrate Earth Day with the announcement of $7 billion in residential solar grants through the United States Environmental Protection Agency’s Solar for All program.

The program will save recipients roughly $400 a year on their energy bills and create 200,000 jobs, a press release from the White House said.

The program is in line with the Biden-Harris administration’s goal of directing 40 percent of federal benefits for green energy investments to disadvantaged communities, reported Reuters.

“We’re opening up a market where everybody, no matter their zip code or their economic background can tap into the savings opportunity that clean energy represents,” said a senior administration official on Friday, as Reuters reported.

Funding for Solar for All comes from the Inflation Reduction Act’s Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund.

The announcement will be made during the president’s visit to Virginia’s Prince William Forest Park, a national park developed by the Civilian Conservation Corps during the presidency of Franklin Delano Roosevelt.

Biden will also announce the opening of applications to the American Climate Corps, which helps prepare young people for climate-related jobs.

Applicants to the program can access the 2,000 available positions across the U.S. and Puerto Rico here.

The climate corps will offer training on the installation of solar panels, restoration of mangrove ecosystems, operating methane emissions detection cameras and other climate-related jobs.

“These positions are hosted by hundreds of organizations advancing clean energy, conservation, and climate resilience,” the press release said.

The first climate corps class begins in June.

The Solar for All grants will result in power for nearly one million low-income households, reported Reuters.

“The selectees will provide funds to states, territories, Tribes, 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,” the press release said. “The program also advances the President’s Justice40 Initiative, which set a 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.”

Recipients of the Solar for All grants include 60 local and state agencies, as well as nonprofits that have programs to assist residents of poorer communities with going solar. Some of the winners have plans to bring solar to Native American residences in Alaska, New Mexico, Arizona and Colorado, Reuters reported.

Residential solar has historically been hard to access for low-income people due to the high upfront cost of solar and because they often rent their homes.

“Selectees under the Solar for All program will serve every state and territory in the nation and deliver residential solar power to over 900,000 households in low-income and disadvantaged communities, saving overburdened households more than $350 million in electricity costs annually… and avoiding more than 30 million metric tons of carbon pollution over the next 25 years,” the press release said.

This week, the administration will share other developments in its climate change agenda.

“Throughout Earth Week, the Biden-Harris Administration will announce additional actions to build a stronger, healthier future for all: Tuesday will focus on helping ensure clean water for all communities; Wednesday will focus on accelerating America’s clean transportation future; Thursday will focus on steps to cut pollution from the power sector while strengthening America’s electricity grid; and Friday will focus on providing cleaner air and healthier schools for all children,” the press release said.

Subscribe to get exclusive updates in our daily newsletter!