Colorado at risk of losing $156 million solar grant under Biden-backed EPA shift

BY MICHAEL BOOTH | THE COLORADO SUN

Subsidies for lower-income families to get access to solar panels and cheaper bills are under threat from the GOP administration

The Environmental Protection Agency wants to cancel $7 billion in solar installation grants, including $156 million already awarded to Colorado, according to national news reports, and Colorado state officials and solar industry leaders are scrambling to learn what is happening to a highly touted program. 

The Colorado Solar and Storage Association said the cancellation, if confirmed, would mean yet another federal blow to clean energy efforts, where Colorado has led the way nationally in converting power generation to renewable sources and promoting solar use in lower-income neighborhoods. 

“It’s devastating to see the latest Trump administration action intended to cripple the renewable energy industry,” said KC Becker, the solar trade group’s president and former regional EPA administrator under the Biden administration. “EPA’s Solar for All grant had a huge interest from states and nonprofits. Colorado was lucky to get $156 million, which would help lower energy bills for homeowners and renters and meet the ever-growing demand for electricity here. Cutting this funding will mean energy needs go unmet, energy bills will go up, and the residential and community solar industry will be further impacted.”

The New York Times reported Tuesday that EPA headquarters is preparing letters informing grantees, which include state governments and nonprofit organizations, that $7 billion awarded for Solar for All under the 2022 Inflation Reduction Act would be rescinded. Colorado’s $156 million grant, similar to the amount sent to many states, went to the Colorado Energy Office. The energy office was preparing a program that could combine direct loans and grants with disbursements to nonprofits and community banks to amplify the subsidies. 

The Colorado Energy Office said Tuesday it has been drafting three grant solicitations, including for a single-family rooftop program at about $18 million, loans to third-party owners for single and multifamily rooftop panels at about $55 million, and workforce development grants at about $11.5 million. The requests for proposals were meant to be released “in the next few months.”

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