State of California Solar for All Program

California’s US EPA Solar for All (S4A) Grant

California’s Solar For All (S4A) grant from the U.S. Environmental Protection Association (EPA) will be used to fund solar initiatives statewide. Three agencies: the California Public Utilities Commission, the California Energy Commission, and the California Labor and Workforce Development Agency via the Employment Development Department will oversee the grant funds.

A summarized version of the workplan is available here.  

California Solar forAll(SFA) grant is secured. California state agencies are in the administrative and planning phase of implementing this $250 million grant from the US EPA to benefit low-income Californians. California continues to work with US EPA on implementation details in alignment with EPA guidance.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

1. What is the status of California’s Solar for All funding from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)?

   California’s Solar forAll(SFA) grant is secured. California state agencies are in the administrative and planning phase of implementing this $250 million grant from the U.S. EPA to benefit low-income Californians.   There are three agency partners – California Public Utilities Commission, California Energy Commission, and Employment Development Department.

2. When does California’s SFA grant end?

   The SFA grant period of performance ends on April 30, 2029. 

3. Who is overseeing California’s SFA grant?

   Three agencies are overseeing the administration of the State’s Solar for All Grant: the California Public Utilities Commission, the California Energy Commission, and the California Labor and Workforce Development Agency via the Employment Development Department. Each agency is implementing their own portion of the grant-funded work. CPUC’s role is to collect information and submit required reports to the U.S. EPA on behalf of the coalition.
   

4. How do I get involved?

   Each agency welcomes the public’s input on its SFA work and must follow its own rules to handle the grant. There are also opportunities for job positions and vendor contracts to help with SFA or other work in the energy sector.

   California Vendor Opportunities: All third-party contracts in California’s approved EPA Solar for All workplan will be facilitated following state contract rules and processes. Visit the California State Government Marketplace (Cal ePRocure) at https://caleprocure.ca.gov/pages/index.aspx to learn more about how to do business with the State.  Search Department 8660 to view open Public Utilities Commission bid opportunities.

   California Job Opportunities: Visit https://www.calhr.ca.gov to apply for open positions.

   CPUC Regulatory Proceedings: Please visit the CPUC's brochures webpage to find information on what happens in a proceeding, the differences between informal and formal participation, how to make public comments, and how to participate in proceeding events like hearings and workshops.
   
   Developer Opportunities: Visit investor-owned utility (PG&E, SCE, SDG&E) and participating community choice aggregator procurement webpages where you can also sign up for email notifications to learn about open solicitations and requests for offers.

   Proceeding Information:  Official filings in the Community Solar Proceeding are posted on the A.22-05-022 docket card.  The online docket card is publicly available, no registration is required. To be notified of new documents, sign up for the proceeding's A.22-05-022 service list here.
   

5. How do I find out more information about the CPUC’s Community Solar and Solar on Multifamily Affordable Housing (SOMAH) programs?

   Community Solar: Visit https://www.cpuc.ca.gov/communitysolar 
   Solar on Multifamily Affordable Housing (SOMAH): Visit https://www.cpuc.ca.gov/somah
   

6. How do I find out more information about the California Energy Commission’s SFA program for publicly owned utilities?

   Please visit https://www.energy.ca.gov/programs-and-topics/programs/solar-all-program
   

7. Where can I find more general information on the U.S. EPA’s Solar for All Program?
   Visit https://www.epa.gov/greenhouse-gas-reduction-fund/solar-all

CPUC Overseen:

• (IOU-S4A Community Solar (~$190.2 million): Funds will support new mid-scale capacity solar systems (about 5 MW each) that offer 20% monthly electricity bill discounts to participating households in the three investor-owned utility (IOU) territories. California is reserving $19M of its IOU-S4A Community Solar budget to encourage the development of projects on tribal lands. Should these funds not be fully allocated after three years, funds will return to the general allocation of IOU-S4A Community Solar funds. Details on the distribution of these funds will be determined in the CPUC’s Community Solar proceeding, A.22-05-022. Please check the “How to Participate in this Proceeding” section of our Community Solar in California page to learn more about getting involved.  
• IOU-S4A SOMAH (~$9.7 million): Solar on Multifamily Affordable Housing (SOMAH) site readiness grants to affordable multifamily participants to improve structures and grid connections enabling upgrades to deploy residential rooftop solar and associated storage (including tribal customers). Details on the implementation of these funds are likely to be presented by the SOMAH Program Administrator via a Tier 2 Advice Letter filing. Details on the SOMAH Program can be found here: The Solar on Multifamily Affordable Housing (SOMAH) Program. Details on the Advice Letter process can be found here: Energy Utility Advice Letter and Tariff Information

CEC Overseen:

• POU-S4A (~$25 million): Establish new programs to deploy community solar, multifamily rooftop solar, and single-family rooftop solar or solar with associated storage systems (including tribal stakeholders) in multiple Publicly Owned Utility (POU) territories. POU-S4A will offer at least the minimum bill expected of 20% monthly electricity bill savings. The CEC will run two to three granting cycles to which POUs or Tribes will apply to start new programs and tariffs in their territories during the grant period to expand solar access to Low-Income and Disadvantaged Communities (LIDAC) customers. More details may be found here.

EDD Overseen:

• RWP-S4A (~$8 million):  Establish and expand training programs to increase knowledge and competency of workers within the solar and storage sectors through the Resilient Workforce Program (RSW). Selected programs will include outreach to increase participants from identified LIDAC communities. The Employment Development Department (EDD) Workforce Services Branch (WSB) has managed funding programs that create pathways for job growth via training partnerships with California employers.

Contracting and Procurement Opportunities

• All of California’s EPA S4A consulting and contracting opportunities will be administered on the Cal eProcure System through California’s State Government Marketplace (https://caleprocure.ca.gov/pages/index.aspx).