EPA $156M grant to provide solar power, lower energy costs and advance environmental justice across New Jersey
NEW JERSEY – The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has awarded the New Jersey Board of Public Utilities $156 million under the Solar for All Program to develop long-lasting solar programs that enable low-income and disadvantaged communities to benefit from solar power.
This award is part of EPA’s historic $27 billion Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund created under President Biden’s Inflation Reduction Act.
EPA Regional Administrator Lisa F. Garcia, Rep. Frank Pallone and NJBPU President Christine Guhl-Sadovy stood together with local elected officials, solar developers, and local leaders at a rooftop community solar site in Edison, N.J. The gathering highlighted the transformative impact this award will have on New Jersey communities by lowering energy costs for families, creating good-quality jobs in underserved communities, advancing environmental justice and tackling the climate crisis.
“EPA’s Solar for All initiative will help ensure that clean energy solutions reach and benefit the communities most affected by climate change,” said EPA Regional Administrator Lisa F. Garcia. “This grant will enable New Jersey communities to adopt solar power, lower greenhouse gas emissions, and create green jobs.”
“The EPA’s $156 million investment in New Jersey’s Board of Public Utilities is a game-changer that will help low-income and disadvantaged communities have access to clean, renewable solar energy,” said Senator Cory Booker. “This funding through the Biden-Harris administration’s Solar for All Program was made possible by the Inflation Reduction Act, legislation passed by Congressional Democrats that is helping our nation tackle the climate crisis, save families money on their energy bills, and pave the way for a more equitable and sustainable future for our most vulnerable communities. Every community, regardless of income, should be able to participate in and benefit from the transition to clean energy.”
“Projects like the one in Edison are exactly what I envisioned when I fought to include these critical climate investments in the Inflation Reduction Act,” said Congressman Frank Pallone (NJ-06). “It’s fitting that a town named after one of the greatest minds in electricity is now leading the way in energy innovation. This initiative will make clean energy accessible to everyone, especially in low-income and disadvantaged communities, while creating jobs and saving families money. I remain as committed as ever to ensuring that these community solar projects continue to grow and benefit New Jersey and the entire country.”
“Thanks to the Biden Administration’s landmark Inflation Reduction Act and Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund, New Jersey will further its nation-leading efforts to achieve bold climate action and clean energy equity,” said New Jersey Board of Public Utilities President Christine Guhl-Sadovy. “New Jersey’s $156 million Solar for All award will result in significant emissions reductions and millions of dollars in energy bill savings, including for thousands of low-income disadvantaged community households.”
The State of New Jersey through NJBPU designed its New Jersey Solar for All to tackle the major barriers that have prevented the adoption of solar energy by low-income and disadvantaged households. Funding through the EPA Solar for All program will support the development of residential solar, multi-family housing solar and storage, residential-serving community solar, and technical assistance and workforce development. The State expects the program to accelerate the energy transition in underserved communities by serving tens of thousands of households in low-income and disadvantaged communities.
Today’s event took place at a rooftop community solar project currently under construction in Edison, N.J. The project, which is being constructed by Solar Landscape and is sited on a building owned by Prologis, received tax credits from the Inflation Reduction Act. It serves as a model for the type of projects NJBPU will undertake with its EPA Solar for All funding support. Once complete, the project will serve about 440 local households, at least half of which are low-to-moderate income. The 2.82-megawatt capacity system will save each household over $250 per year, lowering energy bills by a total of more than $111,000 per year for subscribers.
NJBPU is among 49 state-level recipients to receive a total of approximately $5.5 billion under the EPA Solar for All program. In addition, there are six awards to serve Tribes totaling over $500 million and five multistate awards totaling approximately $1 billion.
A complete list of the selected applicants can be found on EPA’s Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund Solar for All website.
EPA estimates that the 60 Solar for All recipients will enable over 900,000 households in low-income and disadvantaged communities to deploy and benefit from distributed solar energy. This $7 billion investment will generate over $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 over four gigawatts of solar energy capacity unlocked for low-income communities over five years. Solar and distributed energy resources help improve electric grid reliability and climate resilience, which is especially important in disadvantaged communities that have long been underserved.
Solar for All will deliver on the Biden-Harris Administration’s commitment to creating high-quality jobs with the free and fair choice to join a union for workers across the United States. This $7 billion investment in clean energy will generate an estimated 200,000 jobs across the country. All selected applicants intend to invest in local, clean energy workforce development programs to expand equitable pathways into family-sustaining jobs for the communities they are designed to serve. At least 35% of selected applicants have already engaged local or national unions, demonstrating how these programs will contribute to the foundation of a clean energy economy built on strong labor standards and inclusive economic opportunity for all American communities.
The Solar for All program also advances President Biden’s Justice40 Initiative, which set the 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. All the funds awarded through the Solar for All program will be invested in low-income and disadvantaged communities.
The program will also help meet the President’s goal of achieving a carbon pollution-free power sector by 2035 and net-zero emissions economy by no later than 2050.
The 60 selected applicants have committed to delivering on the three objectives of the Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund: reducing climate and air pollution; delivering benefits to low-income and disadvantaged communities; and mobilizing financing to spur additional deployment of affordable solar energy.
Solar for All selected applicants are expanding existing low-income solar programs and launching new programs. In at least 25 states and territories nationwide, Solar for All is launching new programs where there has never been a substantial low-income solar program before. In these geographies, Solar for All selected applicants will open new markets for distributed solar by funding new programs that provide grants and low-cost financing for low-income, residential solar.
