DOE Reports Remarkable Demand for Solar and Wind Energy in Low Income Communities

The Treasury and IRS in partnership with the Department of Energy (DOE) reported remarkable demand in the initial application period for solar and wind facilities. Within the first 30-day window, the Inflation Reduction Act’s Low–income communities Bonus Credit Program received over 46,000 applications for new energy facilities. The applications were either as part of affordable housing or directly benefiting low–income household across the country.guidance, The program allocates 1.8 gigawatts of capacity available through competitive application for the 2023 program across four categories of qualified solar or wind facilities with maximum output of less than five megawatts. The applications for 2024 represent more than four times the total capacity available for the 2023 program.

The program was designed to encourage participation by the communities most impacted by energy insecurity by setting aside 50-percent of the program’s capacity for projects that meet additional criteria. “One of the goals of President Biden’s Inflation Reduction Act is to ensure all Americans benefit from the growth of the clean energy economy,” said Deputy Secretary of the Treasury Wally Adeyemo. Meanwhile, applications for the 2023 program year are still being accepted on a rolling basis. Updates about how much capacity is available by category for 2023 can be accessed from the new dashboards on the DOE window.