The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is planning to end a major source of funding for state-level solar programs, which could jeopardize several community solar projects in Hawaiʻi.
The EPA's "Solar for All" program has awarded $7 billion in federal grants to help low- and moderate-income households access solar. The program was funded by the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022.
The New York Times reported on Tuesday that the EPA is drafting termination letters to all of the program's recipients.
That list includes the Hawaiʻi Green Infrastructure Agency, which was awarded more than $62 million in Solar for All funds.
HGIA Executive Director Gwen Yamamoto-Lau said seven community solar projects spread across Hawaiʻi Island, Maui, Molokaʻi and Oʻahu are contingent on those funds.
She said those projects are slated to provide low-cost solar power to thousands of households that either don't own their roofs, like renters or people in multi-unit buildings, or whose roofs are in need of repair and therefore unable to support solar modules.
"The Solar for All funds is the only funding source that I have that allows us to do community solar financing," Yamamoto-Lau said.
While community solar would take the biggest hit if the funding is rescinded, Yamamoto-Lau said that other programs that support residential rooftop solar and even HGIA's staff could face cuts.
This is not the first time that the future of the Solar for All program has been in question. This spring, HGIA and other recipients were locked out of the federal portal that gives them access to Solar for All program funds.
Eventually their access was restored, and Yamamoto-Lau thought the program was in the clear until she became aware that the EPA was planning to send out termination letters.
She's expecting HGIA may receive one as early as Thursday.
"This makes me really sad, because the Solar for All program was a really comprehensive financing program under the EPA," Yamamoto-Lau said. "And if this is taken off the table, it will leave a gap again."
