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The Environmental Protection Agency awarded Harris County and its partner Texas Solar for All Coalition nearly $250 million Monday for the installation of clean solar energy for lower-income and disadvantaged communities across Texas.
The funding comes from the EPA”s Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund Solar for All grant program – created under the 2022 Inflation Reduction Act – which is meant to address climate change, create green jobs for workers and accelerate the clean energy transition across the United States.
The Texas Solar for All Coalition is made up of 10 partners, including the city of Houston, Harris County, Dallas County, the city of San Antonio, the Clean Energy Fund of Texas and the Houston Advanced Research Center.
“The funding from the EPA’s Solar for All grant program is critical to ensuring a just and equitable transition to affordable, clean energy that leaves no one behind,” said Harris County Commissioner Rodney Ellis in a statement.
The Texas Solar for All Coalition will both relieve the burdens of high-energy costs for lower-income communities and bring more opportunities for green jobs to the state, Ellis said.
Solar program could aid low-income communities
In Spring 2023, Harris County, along with its ten partners across Texas, began working together to apply for the Solar for All grant with the hope for more accessible and affordable renewable energy.
“Texas has the most installed renewable energy, but somehow low-income people have benefited maybe the least from it,” said Jesse Dickerman, managing director for energy transitions at Harris County. “So there’s a lot of us out here who are really itching to put our visions in place to change that and to make lower-income people have the same benefit that other people have.”
The grant funding will support and expand access to community solar projects that will lower customer bills by more than 20 percent in certain communities, according to Harris County. Households should save an average of $1,740 annually.
The program is particularly important for lower-come and disadvantaged communities that are often the most vulnerable to outages in Texas’ power grid.
The financial benefit of cheap energy generally goes to big companies, said Dickerman. Now, the state will have access to more inexpensive, renewable energy that can benefit everyone.
Easing the demand for energy from ERCOT
Millions in Houston, Harris County and across Texas depend on the Electric Reliability Council of Texas functions during hot and cold weather extremes. Many residents are worried about how ERCOT will meet rising demand after the February 2021 winter freeze left millions of Texans without power, water or heat for days.
Last summer, energy prices spiked during the hottest months, causing stress on lower-income individuals who could not afford the increase in electricity bills.
Solar energy could leave Texas residents less dependent on ERCOT, with more reliable and affordable electricity during the summer and winter months. The program will also reduce carbon emissions throughout the state.
The hope is to build upon the community solar program that already exists, said Lisa Lin, director of sustainability for Harris County.
“We want to make sure that we’re following the existing model that we’re seeing with community groups like West Street Recovery,” Lin said. “This goes beyond just deploying solar and battery, but actual disaster resilience. It’s building community and community cohesion and structure trust.”
For next steps, Lin said all the partners will be meeting together to see how to begin using the grant money.
“This is a game-changer,” said Adrian Garcia, commissioner for Harris County Precinct 2. “Giving residents access to affordable, resilient and clean solar energy will fuel our county’s growth for generations to come. It can’t be overstated how important this will be to Harris County’s future.”
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