Balint, Sanders and Welch join EPA chief in Waterbury to cheer solar loan program

Teacher Ian Shea, Rep. Becca Balint, Sen. Bernie Sanders and EPA Administrator

Michael Regan listen as Sen. Peter Welch speaks June 28 in Waterbury. Photo courtesy

Sen. Peter Welch’s office

WATERBURY— Moved inside from the rain, state and federal leaders joined together at SunCommon in Waterbury on Wednesday to announce new funding through the Environmental Protection Agency’s Solar for All program.

The program, created last summer, will give out some $7 billion nationally in loans and grants for Americans to install solar panels on their homes. Among its supporters Wednesday were Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., Sen. Peter Welch, D-Vt., Rep. Becca Balint, D-Vt., and EPA Administrator Michael Regan.

“This is a program for regular people, for rural people, for working class people across the state and nation that want to be able to contribute to the economy and a way of life that is better for the environment,” said Balint. 

The policy came together last August with funding from the federal Inflation Reduction Act, which was signed into law that summer.

According to federal documents, the $7 billion is set to be spread across 60 awards. Up to 56 of those awards are meant for states, territories and nonprofits. Up to five are for tribal governments, and up to 10 are meant for multistate programs. Officials plan to divide the awards into small, medium and large projects, with a range between $25 million and $400 million per award. 

The deadline to apply for funds is Sept. 26. Applicants are slated to hear back next March, and the awards are scheduled to be given out next July.

“I am very proud to have worked for a number of years on a program, which was passed as part of the Inflation Reduction Act, which will provide $7 billion into Vermont, in every state in this country, to make it much much easier for working families to be able to install solar panels on their rooftop,” said Sanders. 

One of the speakers Wednesday was Ian Shea, a science teacher at Stowe Middle School, who said he installed solar panels on his home in 2019 with help from a loan program.

“Even before I put solar on my house, I would tell my students, you got to go solar. It's so simple. It's so easy. Everybody should be doing this. And they would ask me, ‘Well, Mr. Shea, do you have solar on your house?’ And the answer at the time was, ‘No,’” Shea said.

He said he knew he needed to make an adjustment. “I called up my friend here at SunCommon. We got a site visit scheduled and before I knew it, I was producing my own electricity.” 

Explaining how the loan to solar program works from personal experience, Shea said, “In essence, the monthly bills I was paying my power company have now been replaced by the loan monthly bills.” 

“What's better yet is, in a couple years when I (have finished) paying that loan, I will no longer be paying for any energy I'm using in my household. That's huge,” said Shea. 

Sanders said that the program can help “reduce substantially the electric bill you are paying by 80 or 90%. And as part of this program, you are not going to pay a nickel more for your electric bill for however long it takes to pay off that loan”.

“You have virtually free electricity,” he added. “So it's a pretty good deal.”

Welch used the event in Waterbury to remind locals of the town’s history in adopting residential solar panels. “I’ve got to just remind the folks in Waterbury that those steps you took 15 years ago, that was the ripple that ultimately created this wave, and then the tsunami is with this legislation,” Welch said.

Regan also complimented Vermont’s history with renewable energy in explaining why he had come to the state for the announcement: “This state has demonstrated exemplary leadership in implementing solar technology.” 

“Thank you for showing the country how to effectively move towards a clean energy future,” Regan said. “You know, rooftop solar panels installed by companies like SunCommon not only demonstrate a perfect example of the transformative potential of renewable energy, but it also serves as a model for the community's willingness to move towards and embrace affordable, secure solutions to power your homes and your businesses.” 

Balint said the program launch was a chance for leaders to “say government is absolutely part of the solution to some of our most intractable problems, climate change being one of them.”