October 31, 2024
The Biden administration’s latest green initiative leaves red states in the dark. According to a Department of Energy release on Wednesday, Colorado, Illinois, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York and...

The Biden administration’s latest green initiative leaves red states in the dark.

According to a Department of Energy release on Wednesday, Colorado, Illinois, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York and Washington, D.C., will be the targets for an initiative that will develop community solar projects.

The release justified its picks by saying, “DOE has prioritized working with states that have existing programs to support low-income community solar development.”

Although red states are left out of the project, Secretary of Energy Jennifer M. Granholm said, “Every American community, especially those that face disproportionately higher energy burdens, deserves the economic and health benefits that come with increased access to affordable clean energy.”

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Unlike solar projects that mount panels on a roof, community solar projects have solar arrays that provide power to homeowners and renters who are plugged into the power grid.

The new effort will use the Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Program to connect families to community solar projects.

The Community Solar Subscription Platform is designed to connect households participating in welfare with projects that can cut their power bills.

The Department of Energy also announced it will use $10 million from the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law to provide training for solar careers in what the release called “underserved communities.”

The release said the Department of Energy wants to use community solar projects to power 5 million homes, with an average of 20 percent saved on power bills.

The project said the states involved “will provide feedback, coordination, and data to test the operability, security, and performance of the platform.”

The release said the states favored by President Joe Biden will see power usage reductions of 20 percent in Illinois, New Jersey, New York and New Mexico, and 50 percent in Colorado and Washington, D.C.

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According to the release, people in the states Biden has selected will save big.

The Department of Energy estimated that savings will be $400 million in New York, $300 million in Illinois, $240 million in Colorado, $175 million in New Jersey, $40 million in Washington, D.C., and $30 million in New Mexico.

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Although community solar projects can provide lower-cost electricity to some who are connected, they are not without a downside, according to EnergySage.

“When developers build a community solar project, they require a lot of sunny, uninterrupted space. Depending upon the company and the size of the solar project, it’s possible that the community solar farm you buy into required land clearing in order to be built. This can create unintended environmental consequences, from deforestation to habitat loss,” the site says.