The Biden administration announced $7 billion in funding for residential solar earlier this week. North Carolina will receive $156 million to kickstart EnergizeNC, a new statewide solar energy community engagement program.
The program aims to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by increasing access to residential solar in disadvantaged communities, including state- and federally-recognized Native American tribes.
“Not everyone is able to adopt solar because of high upfront costs,” said Stuart Gardner, senior program director for the nonprofit clean energy advocacy group Generation180. “If you rent or you live in an apartment building, those are all barriers.”
The North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality is partnering with NC State University and two clean energy nonprofits to promote rooftop solar and battery installation, which would lower monthly utility bills and indirectly improve air quality. Gardner said the former is especially important for families spending nearly a third of their paycheck on electrical bills.
“Solar’s just cheaper, so if you can get families converting to solar energy, that frees up a lot of money to do other things,” Gardner said.
Residential energy consumption in North Carolina is among the highest in the nation, accounting for more than a quarter of the state’s energy use in 2022. Increasing community access to solar would lower carbon emissions relating to home power.
