Pa. plans to roll out solar access plan with new federal grant
Pennsylvania’s goal to bring solar energy to low-income and disadvantaged communities got a $156 million nod from the federal government this week. The plan is still being designed but is likely to start in the Philadelphia area and spread westward in the coming months and years.
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency announced awards under its Solar for All program, which were granted to states and large multi-state initiatives to bring solar access to residential households.
The Keystone State was shooting for $250 million, where up to 45% could go to the Philadelphia Green Capital Corporation, a “green bank” offshoot of the Philadelphia Energy Authority.
The green bank launched in 2021 with $1.25 million in seed funding from the Philadelphia Energy Authority and so far it has helped 2,700 households access solar energy, its executive director, Maryrose Myrtetus, said.
“We’ve got this Solarize model here in southeast Pennsylvania. We’ve been running it for years. It’s super successful and we want to take the lessons learned and export them,” she said.
The model works like this: Solarize Philly puts out a request for proposals for solar installers, vets them, helps residents figure out the right size for a solar array, and connects them with financing.
Ms. Myrtetus said that while some of the households choose to own their solar arrays, a growing number are taking advantage of leasing their roofs for solar panels, with lease payments structured to be below the cost of electricity on the grid.
She called the grant award a “huge win for Pennsylvania across the board,” specifically because it is targeting low income customers.
“If we’re not intentional and thoughtful about it, the transition is going to go the way all transitions do,” she said. That is, the advantaged will keep their advantage and those without it will be left behind.
The Pennsylvania Solar for All program intends to learn from Philadelphia’s experience and expand it. Its goal is to install about 22,000 household solar arrays across the state over the next five years.
That would be a significant expansion from where things stand today.
According to the Solar Energy Industries Association, there were nearly 68,666 solar installations in Pennsylvania in the third quarter of last year — the latest for which data is available. The vast majority of them are residential, rooftop arrays, but the most electricity that’s generated from solar comes from large, utility-scale projects. All the solar installed in the state is enough to power 195,365 homes, the trade association estimates.
Because of the upfront investment required to buy and install solar panels — not to mention owning a house with a roof in good condition and well suited for an array — residential solar access has been mostly confined to higher-income households even as lower-income utility customers have been shown to spend a higher proportion of their limited income on utility bills.
The Solar for All money is meant to tackle this problem. All of it will be exclusive to residential households in low income and otherwise disadvantaged areas, as defined by the federal government’s
Justice40 initiative, which aims to direct at least 40% of funds flowing from certain federal programs to such communities.
In southwestern Pennsylvania, which includes areas in Fayette and Beaver counties, and large swaths of the Mon Valley, including Braddock, McKeesport and Turtle Creek, the Hill District and the North Side, and communities along the Ohio River.
February, Pennsylvania’s Energy Development Authority, which applied for the Solar for All grant, said the money would be used to install solar arrays, upgrade buildings and facilitate workforce development.
This could include financing for roof or groundmounted solar arrays at residential properties, whether rented or owned. It could mean money for building improvements to allow solar integration, like roof repair, for example. Pennsylvania’s application included the option of batteries to store extra energy.
It also focused on community solar projects, which can be tricky in the state where it’s not yet possible for multiple customers to have their electric bills offset by ownership in a community solar asset. There are financial workarounds to this issue, but they are more complicated and less accessible to disadvantaged households.
Financial assistance might take the form of subsidies, rebates, leases or loans. Projects would be required to deliver at least 20% in savings on utility bills as a result.
The Environmental Protection Agency will host an informational webinar on the program at 4 p.m. on April 29.