Solar + Storage

To fund community-led development and infrastructure projects that achieve major environmental, health, and economic benefits in California’s most disadvantaged communities. The program empowers the communities most impacted by pollution to choose the strategies and projects best suited to achieve their community vision and enact transformational change. All with data-driven milestones and measurable outcomes.

National Laboratory of the Rockies (formerly called the National Renewable Energy Laboratory or NREL) offered targeted technical and analytical assistance to communities through the Solar Energy Innovation Network (SEIN) as Innovation at SCALE (Solar Community Assistance for Local Equity). The goal was to overcome barriers to solar adoption and achieve a just and equitable solar future. SEIN and Innovation at SCALE can offer expert guidance, tailored support on specific challenges, and community-focused solutions with proven strategies and lessons learned from successful SEIN projects. Requests for assistance were expected to reopen in March 2025, but did not and the web page had technical issues in April 2025 and as of October 2025, requests are currently closed.

Under the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s $7 billion Solar for All program, the 60 grant recipients were set to create new or expand existing low-income solar programs, intended to enable over 900,000 households in low-income and disadvantaged communities to benefit from distributed solar energy. In August 2025, the agency sent official termination letters to the 60 state agencies, nonprofit groups and Native American Tribes that received the grants, according to news reports. This included Tribal Energy Alternatives, a GRID Affiliate, which had opened up the Western Indigenous Network Solar for All (WIN-SFA) 2nd Round. Lawsuits were filed.

To fill a critical resource gap by equipping community-serving organizations with the information they need to advance a resilient power project — solar paired with battery storage (solar+storage).

The California Public Utilities Commission’s (CPUC) Self-Generation Incentive Program (SGIP) offers incentives for installing energy storage and paired solar technology at low-income households.

The SOMAH Program provides financial incentives for installing solar panel systems that benefit both low-income tenants and property owners throughout California. It is designed to deliver renewable energy and credits on energy bills to hundreds of thousands of residents that otherwise would not have access for their homes.