Review and Selection Process for Solar for All

Following the evaluation for eligibility using the threshold eligibility criteria provided in Section III.C: Threshold Eligibility Criteria of the Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO), reviewers from EPA, Department of Energy, Housing and Urban Affairs, Department of Treasury, Department of Agriculture, the Federal Emergency Management Agency, Department of Labor, Department of Defense, and the Department of Energy’s National Labs reviewed the Solar for All applications. Over 200 federal experts in climate, power markets, affordable housing, state energy policy, Tribal energy, environmental justice, labor, and consumer protection from across the interagency participated in the Solar for All review and selection process. These federal experts served on expert review panels; provided expert recommendations on selection and partial funding recommendations; and more.

• Expert Review Panels: EPA designed and executed a process to incorporate the diverse set of expertise required to evaluate all applications. EPA created three expert review panels as part of the review and scoring process: a holistic review panel and two criteria-specific review panels focused on 1) distributed solar market strategies; and 2) financial assistance strategies. Therefore, each individual Solar for All application was reviewed in sections by a total of three panels.
• Recommendations from a Senior Review Team and Final Selections: As a final robustness check, after the conclusion of the review process, EPA convened a multi-disciplinary Solar for All Senior Review Team to advise and provide a final set of recommendations to the Selection Officials, who were authorized to make selection and partial funding decisions. The Solar for All Senior Review Team was comprised of senior federal employees, primarily career employees, from EPA and the U.S. Department of Energy with relevant expertise in distributed energy, environmental justice, and clean energy deployment on Tribal lands. The Solar for All Senior Review Team met over the course of several weeks and to provide recommendations to the Selection Officials. The Selection Officials reviewed the Solar for All Senior Review Team’s recommendations before making selection and partial funding decisions that were consistent with the Solar for All Senior Review Team’s recommendations.