Congressman Troy Carter Announces $156 Million for Solar Investments in Louisiana

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, Congressman Troy A. Carter, Sr. (D-LA) announced that the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) will grant $156,120,000 to the Louisiana Department of Energy and Natural Resources (DENR). This funding was made possible through the Inflation Reduction Act that Congressman Carter helped craft and voted for.

“I’m proud to announce this funding, a pivotal investment in enhancing energy resilience for low-income and disadvantaged communities. This initiative promises to expand solar energy infrastructure, alleviating the impact of recurring storms like Hurricanes Ida and Laura,” said Rep. Carter. “By facilitating home upgrades, providing accessible financing, and supporting community resilience hubs, the program aims to uplift at-risk communities while fostering economic growth. This is a significant step towards a resilient and equitable energy future in Louisiana.”

This funding will initiate a statewide “Solar for Y’all” program, providing grants and loans for low-income and disadvantaged residents and communities to build solar energy infrastructure to improve energy resilience. The program will focus on resiliency through enabling upgrades on single-family and multi-family homes to prepare them for solar energy equipment; developing coordinated low-cost and easy-to-access financing options for those who could not access solar otherwise; creating new equitable loan programs for community resilience hubs, resilient schools, and disadvantaged businesses; providing long-term support to projects successfully deployed; and growing a strong workforce to support new resilience-related business opportunities.

Background

During Fiscal Year 2023, Congressman Carter secured $3.8 million for community lighthouses – the single largest community project funding in the nation that cycle for a solar-related project. It aims to provide commercial-scale solar power and back-up battery capacity to 86 congregations and community institutions across the city. During extended power outages the lighthouses will immediately assess need and aid their surrounding communities. They will provide charging stations, food distribution, cooling and heating stations, oxygen exchange, light medical equipment, and more.

In October 2023, the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) announced nearly $250,000,000 for the State of Louisiana Hubs for Energy Resilient Operations (HERO) project to further expand the community resilience hubs model across the state. That funding was made possible by the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, which Congressman Carter helped craft and voted for.

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