EPA Awards GRID Alternatives Solar for All Grant

4.22.2024 - Press Releases

GRID Alternatives (GRID), the nation’s leading non-profit provider of community-led renewable energy solutions, is thrilled to announce that it has been selected to receive two Solar for All program grants from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). GRID’s Solar Access for Nationwide Affordable Housing program proposal has been provisionally awarded $249,800,000 to serve Americans living in rented and owned affordable housing across the nation, and its Tribal Program’s Western Indigenous Network Solar for All program proposal will be awarded $62,450,000 to partner with Tribal Nations with a focus on five states. GRID’s partners include nation-leading affordable housing and Tribal partners, along with various states, territories, Tribal governments, municipalities, and eligible nonprofits. With the EPA, each team will begin initial work to design and launch programs providing financial and technical assistance for equitable solar, storage, and enabling energy upgrades to underserved communities and income-qualified households. 

The Solar for All program is a $7 billion investment in advancing climate and environmental justice for all Americans through the immense benefits of residential rooftop and community solar and associated storage. This historic competitive grant program was included in the Inflation Reduction Act through the advocacy of many climate and environmental justice advocates who know that overcoming barriers to local renewable energy can deliver transformational change for American families through energy savings, career, and wealth-building opportunities, health and environmental benefits, as well as for the electric grid and disaster resilience.  

“Solar for All represents an almost literal breath of fresh air for millions of Americans. Together with our partners, GRID Alternatives is excited to work with EPA to build on our work over the last 20 years, expanding access to solar energy and its benefits, including real savings, quality jobs, and a better environment for folks,” states Erica Mackie, GRID Alternatives CEO & Co-Founder. “Our mission to build community-powered solutions to advance economic and environmental justice through renewable energy is supercharged by this award. Our team of leading nonprofits and partners, which includes high-profile affordable housing organizations with deep community roots and a long history of providing affordable housing, looks forward to genuinely engaging community stakeholders to tailor these game-changing resources. 

Here’s what GRID’s coalition partners are saying:

"The unprecedented affordable housing crisis in the U.S. needs to drive all of us to get creative about housing affordability, including by reducing monthly energy costs for low-income homeowners,” said Habitat for Humanity International CEO Jonathan Reckord. “Habitat affiliates nationwide stand ready to work alongside our Solar for All partners to ensure more families have access to a safe, decent, and affordable place to live while reducing the family’s energy burden and the overall home’s environmental impact. We look forward to leveraging these funds so that more families in more communities are not left behind as we build for the future.”

“As we celebrate our 45th anniversary, we are thrilled to be included in this partnership with GRID, extending residential solar to underserved communities.  This initiative not only lowers energy costs but bolsters housing stability,”  said Marietta Rodriguez, president & CEO of NeighborWorks America. “Collaborating with nonprofits like GRID is crucial to advancing climate resilience and improving housing security for low-income communities. The result is not only an investment in solar infrastructure but in the futures of those who call these communities home.”

“Our mission at NEF is to deliver innovative, collaborative financial solutions to expand the creation and preservation of affordable housing, and we are proud to be a partner in helping to deploy Solar for All,” said Matt Reilein, president and CEO of National Equity Fund. “Thanks to forward-thinking, mission-focused leaders like GRID, affordable housing developers will be able to bring new financial opportunities leveraging the benefits of solar energy to communities that need it most.”

“High utility costs disproportionately impact low-income communities, increasing the cost of living and pushing a good home even further out of reach,” said Shaun Donovan, president and CEO of Enterprise Community Partners. “With this Solar for All grant, we can help deliver even more affordable, resilient energy to the people who need it most—and ensure that no one is left out in the transition to the green economy.”

"We are excited to join Grid Alternatives and the other coalition partners in bringing solar access to affordable multifamily housing residents," said National Housing Trust (NHT) CEO Priya Jayachandran. "NHT will leverage its 10+ years of experience in providing a portfolio-level solar program that assists owners across the entire spectrum of solar deployment services. As a housing portfolio owner, community lender, and policy expert, we are committed to creating opportunities for everyone to equitably benefit from the health, economic, and climate benefits of resilient and sustainable affordable homes."

Housing Partnership Network Official Statement:

“Housing Partnership Network applauds the EPA for supporting our multi-state coalition to complement and fill critical gaps in state and local programs to ensure affordable housing residents can equitably access renewable energy's economic and environmental benefits. We are thrilled to support the implementation of Solar For All and expand the adoption of solar and storage opportunities across the country, particularly among multi-family portfolio owners.”

“The EPA’s Solar for All grant is an incredible boon to LISC and our partners in the movement to decarbonize homes and lower energy costs that burden millions of everyday Americans,” said Michael T. Pugh, president and CEO of LISC. “Low-income communities have been sidelined from so much of America’s prosperity, and many are on the frontlines of the climate crisis. The work funded by Solar for All can spur economic mobility, help our communities become more resilient, and tread more lightly on the planet, all at the same time.”

"The rapid deployment of solar through this proven model will mean greater energy resiliency for our country and greater equity in the transition to clean energy," said Ari Matusiak, co-founder and CEO of Rewiring America. "Helping more families access abundant and free power from the sun unlocks even greater cost savings as we at Rewiring America work to help them gain access to clean, electric appliances and vehicles that will improve the health, safety, and comfort of their homes and lives. We’re thrilled to partner with and support GRID as they take on this historic next chapter."

“WRI is excited to be part of this team that will accelerate the transition to clean energy and deliver more solar power to low-income neighborhoods across the country. Alongside these partners, we will make it easier for affordable housing facilities in these communities to access solar energy, helping them save on utility bills and improve the well-being of residents while getting us a step closer to meeting climate goals,” said Lori Bird, Director of US Energy at World Resources Institute (WRI). 

GRID Alternatives envisions a rapid, equitable transition to a world powered by renewable energy that benefits everyone. Our mission is to build community-powered solutions to advance economic and environmental justice through renewable energy. For 20 years across the United States, GRID’s communities-first approach has maximized benefits for underserved communities who need and deserve clean, affordable energy through direct installation, program administration, hands-on job training, policy analysis and advocacy, and more. “We are ready to leverage local partnerships to unleash the benefits of solar for thousands of everyday Americans who deserve to keep more of their hard-earned pay, breathe cleaner air, get access to good green jobs and contracting opportunities, and keep the lights on,” added Erica Mackie. “Solar isn’t just for the well-off and we are ready to get to work.”

About GRID Alternatives  

GRID Alternatives is an international, U.S.-based 501(c)3 nonprofit organization that builds community-powered solutions to advance economic and environmental justice through renewable energy. GRID works in the U.S., Mexico, Nepal, and Nicaragua and has installed solar photovoltaic systems on more than 29,500 homes and affordable housing developments in underserved communities while providing more than 33,200 individuals with workforce development training. GRID also provides clean mobility solutions and battery storage and is a leading voice in low-income solar policy development in the U.S. Installation Basics Training (IBT), a competency-based certificate program designed to develop the skills most relevant to entry-level solar installation jobs and related construction employment fields. Trainees learn solar installation skills, OSHA 10 safety standards, first aid and CPR, and soft skills, including interpersonal communication and dependability, to help job trainees obtain and sustain employment.

About LISC

LISC is one of the country's largest community development organizations, helping forge vibrant, resilient communities across America. LISC works with residents and partners to close systemic gaps in health, wealth, and opportunity and advance racial equity so that people and places can thrive. Since its founding in 1979, LISC has invested $29.7 billion to create more than 489,000 affordable homes and apartments, develop 81.4 million square feet of retail, community, and educational space, and help tens of thousands of people find employment and improve their finances.