On April 22, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced that the Oregon Solar for All Coalition (OSFAC), consisting of Oregon Department of Energy, Energy Trust of Oregon and Bonneville Environmental Foundation, would be awarded $86.6 million dollars through its Solar For All Competition to help bring solar to individuals and families with lower incomes.

The U.S EPA Solar for All program falls under the Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund set up by the Inflation Reduction Act. The program is designed to advance equity, environmental and energy justice priorities in support of federal Justice40 Initiative goals to deliver benefits to disadvantaged communities.

The OSFAC plans to use this funding to bolster solar through five pathways:

• Support solar installations at low-income single-family households with little to no upfront customer cost.
• Provide rebates for solar projects on multifamily buildings to bring tangible benefits to low-income tenants.
• Offer financial and technical assistance to develop community solar projects that benefit low-income participants under the Oregon Community Solar Program.
• Offer financial and technical assistance to develop community solar projects that benefit low-income participants in consumer-owned utility service areas.
• Strengthen the state’s workforce development activities.

Planning will take place over the first year of the grant. The first Solar For All incentives are expected to be available by late 2024 through spring 2025 depending on the offer type. Energy Trust has two primary roles in delivering Solar for All:

• Supporting Oregon Department of Energy’s deployment of Solar For All incentives for rooftop solar by providing verification, trade ally management, customer service, and customer outreach and marketing.
• Delivering a community solar incentive program that includes project development assistance, installation incentives and technical assistance to projects that benefit subscribers with low incomes.

Stay tuned for updates as these grant-funded programs develop. If you have questions, please contact that Solar team at solar@energytrust.org.