Solar For All program aims to bring renewable energy to low-income households

A federally funded project that could potentially power hundreds of low-income homes through solar energy installations on school rooftops is moving forward despite initial concerns about its future under the Trump administration.

The Guam Energy Office (GEO) provided details about the “Solar for All – Guam: Expanding Equitable Access to Clean Energy” initiative during the GPA POWER Symposium earlier this week during the University of Guam’s Conference on Island Sustainability held at the Hyatt Regency Guam.

GEO director Rebecca Respicio, who presented at the symposium on Tuesday, told the Post in an interview Thursday that the $62.4 million grant from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund remains intact.

“So far it hasn’t been defunded or unfunded or wiped out by the Trump administration,” Respicio said. “We’re happy to say that we’re going to proceed.”

The initiative consists of two key components: a loan program for low-income households to install their own solar systems and a community solar rooftop project.

School rooftops

The SFA-GU Community Solar Rooftop Project aims to use public-school rooftops to install solar photovoltaic systems with battery storage.

“For the community solar component, ideally we’re going to put them on GDOE rooftops, public schools,” Respicio said. “At each site, 50% of the power generated has to go back to benefit low-income households.”

Using Price Elementary School as an example, Respicio said that half of the energy generated from the solar panels would be distributed to qualifying low-income households, potentially benefiting around 400 families per site without requiring solar installations on their own homes.

The remaining 50% of generated power would benefit the schools themselves.

“It will lower their utility costs. They will be saving money tremendously throughout the year, which will hopefully help them with a lot of their other priorities,” she said.

The schools were selected strategically because they often serve as emergency shelters during disasters, making them ideal candidates for renewable energy systems that enhance community resilience.

Loans for families

The loan program component aims to help disadvantaged households install their own solar systems with battery storage, which typically costs around $75,000 for a standard three-bedroom home.

“$25,000 of that loan will be fully a grant,” Respicio said. “This means that homes that are going to avail themselves of this opportunity will not have to pay back the full amount.”

The program is designed to ensure participants will spend at least 20% less on energy than they currently do.

“We’re not putting you into greater debt, we’re actually helping you to save money in the end,” she said.

“Every single home that is going to get a loan under this loan program will receive an energy audit,” Respicio added. “This energy audit is going to show the homeowner what you can do even before getting this loan because then it can lower down your loan costs.”

Respicio noted that the loan program will be administered by a local government lending institution.

Landlords also eligible

The program isn’t limited to homeowners. Landlords who rent to qualifying low-income tenants may also be eligible.

“We are working to ensure that, let’s say you are a landlord, but you do rent to this qualifying income bracket, there’s going to be an opportunity for landlords to avail themselves of this loan, own the solar panels, as long as they agree to rent to this qualifying income bracket for a certain amount of years,” Respicio said.

Implementation timeline

Planning for the project began in January 2025, with up to a year allocated for finalizing plans. However, Respicio hopes to move faster.

“Our timeline is ‘the sooner the better,’” she said. “If it only is going take us six months to do this and we’re confident in it, and EPA says, ‘Oh, we’re confident in you, we approve,’ and the governor says, ‘I’m confident in this plan, let’s move forward,’ then we don’t have to take a year.”

The loan program may launch sooner than the community solar component, as it requires less complex planning.

“We got permission that if we’re done with the loan program details and it gets approved by EPA and our governor, we can launch this loan program sooner than community solar,” she said.

Installations are expected to begin between 2026 and 2029.

Technical assistance

The National Renewable Energy Lab (NREL) is providing technical assistance for the project. According to Respicio, the first technical assistance meeting was held a couple of weeks ago.

“We’re so lucky to have the National Renewable Energy Lab partnered as providing technical assistance to the island,” she said. “They know so much about the island. They’ve done previous studies about the power utility system on the island.”

Stakeholder engagement

Respicio said public outreach will begin this year, with stakeholder meetings and community town halls planned in the coming months.

“We’re going to have community stakeholdership engagements. We’re going to get all potential stakeholders involved,” she said. “We want to hear from the community. We want feedback.”

The initiative also includes a workforce development component, with plans to create an energy conservation corps modeled after the UOG Center for Island Sustainability’s conservation corps.

This corps will educate community members about energy efficiency and help potential program participants understand their options before applying for loans.

“Long term, Guam is going to have higher energy independence thanks to this kind of program, a better, stronger resilience for the island, and of course energy security,” Respicio said.