A $156 million fund will bring the benefits of solar energy to income-qualified Washington residents.
About the program
Solar for All will advance equity and environmental justice through new and expanded solar programs for income-qualified households, disadvantaged communities and tribes. The program is funded by the Environmental Protection Agency’s Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund created by the federal Inflation Reduction Act.
Solar for All will fill critical gaps in current and previous solar programs by focusing on:
- Tribes: We will partner with tribes to co-develop funding for residential-serving solar projects.
- Homeowners: No-cost solar installations for income-qualified, single-family homeowners.
- Renters and communities: No-cost solar participation through community or shared solar.
- Tenants of multifamily affordable housing: No-interest loans to help properties prepare for solar and access solar incentives.
Timeline
- Community and stakeholder input: May 2023-April 2024
- Proposal to EPA: April 2024
- EPA approval of revised workplan and budget: July-Dec 2024
- Plan program: January-December 2025
- Launch program (tentative): January 2026
- Funding available (tentative): January 2026
How to get involved
Send an email to solar@commerce.wa.gov with “Solar for All” in the subject line to express interest.
Resources
Fact sheet and detailed narrative
- Fact Sheet on EPA’s Award to Washington (PDF)
- Narrative from Washington’s Proposal to EPA (PDF): Commerce requested $250 million in our proposal to the EPA, the maximum amount of funding allowed for a state of our size. Like most grantees, our request was cut by 37% to $156 million. Part of our work in the coming months will focus on adjusting our proposal to align with this new budget.
Public workshop recordings and slides
- Solar Summit slides (Oct. 4, 2024) (PDF): A brief overview and update on the status of the program and next steps.
- Public workshop recording (Aug. 22, 2023) (MP4): Before submitting our proposal to the EPA, we held a public webinar with over 150 participants and offered an online comment form to receive feedback. We collected about twenty comments on the proposal in total.
- Public workshop slides (Aug. 22, 2023) (PDF)