Solar for All

New Hampshire’s Solar for All Program

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced that the State of New Hampshire has been selected to receive $43,510,000 from the Solar for All competitive grant program. EPA announced $7 billion in grant awards nationwide. New Hampshire’s application was a partnership between the New Hampshire Department of Energy as lead applicant, the New Hampshire Community Loan Fund, and New Hampshire Housing Finance Authority. 

The New Hampshire Community Loan Fund and New Hampshire Housing Finance Authority will leverage their existing programs and strong connections with Low-Income and Disadvantaged Communities (LIDAC) to effectively engage and support these communities, aiming to bring community solar energy benefits to as many households as possible. The New Hampshire Community Loan Fund will empower resident-owned communities to install community solar through their ROC-NH program. This community-driven initiative helps the residents of manufactured housing parks to buy the park from the owners and convert them into cooperatives.

New Hampshire Housing Finance Authority will utilize the funding to finance and install solar arrays on low-income, multifamily housing properties, which they have helped finance, and will install several large-scale community solar farms to be virtually net-metered to residents of low-income multifamily housing.  Additionally, NH Housing will partner with the state’s eighteen public housing authorities to install solar arrays on their existing properties.

The Department of Energy will use funding to scale up our existing Low to Moderate Income (LMI) Community Solar program. This initiative aims to serve communities or projects that are not covered by other programs offered by the New Hampshire Community Loan Fund or New Hampshire Housing Finance Authority. The Solar for All LIDAC/LMI Community Solar Grant Program will require that projects requesting full funding demonstrate that at least 75% of the project’s net revenues from a proposed array directly benefit LIDAC participants.  It will be a condition of the program that project proposers demonstrate and ensure that each solar project LIDAC participant will receive the minimum household savings of 20% of the average household utility bill. The Solar for All LIDAC/LMI Community Solar Grant Program will also allow for 20% of funding for the projects selected to be utilized for enabling upgrades, including battery storage. 

All three programs under the New Hampshire Solar for All Program, New Hampshire Department of Energy, the New Hampshire Community Loan Fund, and New Hampshire Housing Finance Authority, will be working closely with the U.S Department of Labor, New Hampshire Office of Apprenticeships to utilize apprenticeships programs in Solar for All projects. 

This page will be updated as additional information becomes available.

Contact SolarForAll@energy.nh.gov for any questions regarding the New Hampshire Solar for All program.

All three programs funded by this grant specifically focus on onsite community solar initiatives. There are currently no programs under this grant that support residential solar installations.

The New Hampshire Solar for All Program does not engage in unsolicited marketing tactics for this initiative, including via mail or social media. Homeowners will not receive promotional materials in any form from the New Hampshire Department of Energy intended to solicit participation in the New Hampshire Solar for All program.

Site last updated: January 17, 2025