President Joe Biden on April 22 announced $7 billion in grants for residential solar projects that he says will benefit nearly 1 million households in low-income and disadvantaged communities.
The president unveiled his plan while marking Earth Day during a visit to Triangle, Virginia. He delivered a speech at Prince William Forest Park, which was created by Democratic President Franklin D. Roosevelt’s Civilian Conservation Corps, a New Deal program.
“It’s a big deal,” President Biden said of the Solar for All program.
“Millions of families will save over $400 a year in utility bills. ... It will also create 200,000 good paying and union jobs for over five years.”
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has chosen 60 applicants to receive $7 billion in grant awards through the “Solar for All” program as part of the Inflation Reduction Act. The 60 chosen applications include 49 state-level awards, six awards to tribes, and five multistate awards, according to the EPA.
Speaking at the event, Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) said the investment will help Americans save more than $8.7 billion in electric bills in total over the lifetime of the solar panels.
Americans can “cut their electric bills by 70 to 90 percent depending on solar exposure,” Mr. Sanders said.
“The problem is that in order to get those annual savings, you need to make an initial investment, and depending upon the size of your home and where you live, that investment in solar panels may be $10,000 to $20,000, which is a lot of money if you’re an average American,” he said. “That is where the Solar for All Program comes in.”
President Biden has launched the American Climate Corps—an initiative modeled after President Roosevelt’s aforementioned program—which aims to hire more than 20,000 young Americans to undertake climate-related actions, according to the White House.
During his speech, President Biden announced the opening of 2,000 job positions through the organization’s newly launched website.
Recently, the president also announced a series of conservation actions, including protecting more than 13 million acres in the western Arctic.
“With these new announcements, the Biden-Harris administration has now protected more than 41 million acres of lands and waters across the country, leaving a huge mark on the history of American conservation.”
During his speech, President Biden also highlighted his administration’s climate initiatives.
“Folks, despite the overwhelming devastation, in red and blue states, there are still those who deny the climate is in crisis. My MAGA Republican friends don’t seem to think it’s in crisis,” he said.
He criticized Republicans for trying to repeal the Inflation Reduction Act.
“This work has never been more urgent. Climate change is the existential crisis of our time; no one can deny its impacts and staggering costs anymore,” he said in a proclamation for Earth Day issued on April 19.
“Climate change is a global issue. Certainly, no one nation can tackle the climate crisis alone; we have to work together. On my first day in office, I immediately rejoined the Paris Climate Accord, reclaiming American leadership in this critical work.”
Earth Day was first observed nationwide on April 22, 1970. Sen. Gaylord Nelson, a Democrat from Wisconsin, introduced the idea to raise awareness about environmental issues.
Inspired by 1960s activism, particularly the anti-Vietnam War “teach-ins,” Mr. Nelson proposed the idea to mobilize public support for environmental protection and to push for policy action at the national level.
That same year, Republican President Richard M. Nixon signed an executive order in July founding the Environmental Protection Agency. Congress then approved the creation of the agency, which opened in December 1970.
