US Environmental Protection Agency chief visits massive solar power project in Houston

EPA administrator Michael Reagan visited a major solar farm project in Houston on Friday, touting it as an example of the type of projects the agency wants to fund through its upcoming Greenhouse Gas Emission Reduction Fund.

“We want to demonstrate how this can be done across the country for people of all races, all zip codes, all incomes,” Reagan said.

The Houston project will turn a 240-acre former landfill in Sunnyside into a 50-megawatt solar farm, making it one of the largest urban solar farms in the country. In addition to the communal farm, there will also be a community solar array and a program to help lower electricity bills for low-income residents in a historically underserved area.

Reagan said the upcoming $27 billion federal grant program has earmarked $7 billion for residential rooftop solar projects and public solar projects in low-income and disadvantaged communities.

“Sunnyside helps inform the US Environmental Protection Agency on how to develop the best features in our program so that communities like Sunnyside can be competitive and receive these grants,” Reagan said.

The Sunnyside project has been under development for several years, and in April last year it received the necessary permission from the state environmental protection agency. This is expected to happen this summer.