Oregon Awarded $86.6 Million Solar for All Grant to Support Renewable Energy for Low-income Oregonians
Media Contact: Jennifer Kalez
STATEWIDE – The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has announced that Oregon will receive an $86.6 million Solar for All grant to support renewable energy adoption for low-income Oregonians. The Oregon Solar for All Coalition – which includes the Oregon Department of Energy, Energy Trust of Oregon, and Bonneville Environmental Foundation – applied for the funding last fall.
The U.S. EPA Solar for All program is designed to advance equity, environmental, and energy justice priorities in support of federal Justice40 Initiative goals to deliver benefits to disadvantaged communities. Awardees will develop programs that reduce greenhouse gas emissions and other air pollutants, deliver the benefits of those reductions to low-income and disadvantaged communities across the nation, and mobilize financing and private capital to stimulate additional projects that reduce emissions.
The Oregon Solar for All Coalition will use the first year of the five-year grant to plan and develop the grant-funded programs, including leveraging existing solar technology incentives and support platforms already in use. The coalition plans to use the funding to bolster solar through five pathways: 1) support solar installations at low-income single-family households with little to no upfront customer cost, 2) provide rebates for solar projects on multifamily buildings to provide tangible benefits to low-income tenants, 3) offer financial and technical assistance to develop community solar projects that benefit low income participants under the Oregon Community Solar Program, 4) offer financial and technical assistance to develop community solar projects that benefit low income participants in consumer-owned utility service areas, and 5) strengthen the state’s workforce development activities.
“The Oregon Department of Energy is thrilled to be part of the coalition bringing significant solar dollars to our state,” said ODOE Director Janine Benner. “While past programs have helped expand access to solar for many Oregonians, it has been a challenge to lower the costs enough to ensure low-income households and other disadvantaged communities could participate. Solar for All can make this happen.”
“Solar energy reduces energy bills for Oregon families and makes our communities stronger,” said Michael Colgrove, Executive Director of Energy Trust of Oregon. “This funding will strengthen and grow the work underway to bring rooftop and community solar to more people, especially to individuals and families with lower incomes who face higher energy costs relative to their earnings. Over the coming months, we look forward to working with ODOE, the Bonneville Environmental Foundation, and community partners across the state to connect more people to the benefits of solar.”
“The Bonneville Environmental Foundation is proud to be part of this coalition that will meaningfully address society’s two most pressing issues: climate change and wealth inequality,” said Evan Ramsey, BEF Sr. Director, Renewables.
This Solar for All funding comes from the U.S. EPA’s Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund that was created by the 2022 Inflation Reduction Act.
More information, including the coalition’s submitted program narrative and a past program overview, is available on the Oregon Department of Energy’s website. The coalition will provide updates on the website as planning and development continue over the next year. Oregonians can also sign up for email updates to stay in the loop on opportunities to weigh in and ahead of future program roll-out.