WATERBURY — A cast of big-name politicians gathered at the headquarters of SunCommon on Wednesday afternoon to announce the start of a program designed to reduce barriers for low- and middle-income families that want to install residential solar energy systems.

Michael Regan, administrator of the federal Environmental Protection Agency, stood alongside U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., U.S. Sen. Peter Welch, D-Vt., and U.S. Rep. Becca Balint, D-Vt., to launch the new program, called Solar for All.

The EPA has $7 billion in hand for the program, which came from the Inflation Reduction Act, to distribute to as many as 60 entities, including states, territories, tribal governments, municipalities and nonprofits.

Sanders said he hopes that, in 10 years, the program will provide funding for rooftop solar to people in 10 million homes who otherwise couldn’t afford it. In Vermont, it currently costs around $18,000 to install solar panels without any rebates or other funding, he said.

While rebates help, and some utilities and nonprofits give additional support, “we want to do better,” he said.

“What we are saying today, to every working family, middle-income family, lower-income family: What this program is about is helping you with that initial cost, whatever it may be,” Sanders said.

Participation in the program guarantees “a minimum 20% total electricity bill savings for households,” according to a press release issued by Sanders and the EPA.

According to a study conducted by the University of Vermont, Vermonters who are Black, Indigenous or people of color were seven times less likely to own solar panels, and renters were three times less likely than homeowners to report having solar panels.

To decide who gets the funding, the agency plans to hold a grant competition, focusing on applications that pledge to expand existing solar programs, or create new ones, for low-income families across the country.

“This is not a paternalistic approach,” Regan said. “What we’ve actually done is, we said nonprofits and communities and local elected officials know their community better than the federal government ever could, so we’re creating a competition, and we’re going to have these entities step up and take control of significant resources to be sure that all of these communities are brought in.”

Regan said he came to Vermont to announce the program “because the state has demonstrated exemplary leadership in implementing solar technology.”

He pointed to SunCommon’s model, which has allowed many Vermonters to install solar panels at no upfront cost. The company works with credit unions to allow homeowners to pay for the panels over time, replacing the cost of electric bills with the cost of the loan.

Though some details about Solar for All aren’t yet available, Regan said his agency expects to distribute the money about a year from now. The grants are expected to provide financing and technical assistance, such as workforce development.

Asked whether the program will benefit renters, Sanders said the EPA is still ironing out the details. About 30% of households in Vermont rent.

“That’s one of the complexities that EPA is dealing with,” he said. “The answer is yes. It’s not going to be easy, but they are working on it.”

Ian Shea, a Waterbury resident, spoke alongside Regan and the congressional delegation, detailing his own experience with solar. A middle school science teacher, he said he often touts the benefits of having solar panels to his students. When they asked him whether he had a solar setup himself, he knew it was time to invest.

“I can say with confidence, I am generating a lot more energy than I’m actually using, which is again, awesome,” Shea said.

Sanders, who pushed to include funding for Solar for All in the Inflation Reduction Act, called climate change an existential threat during his remarks Wednesday.

“If we do not get our act together and transform our energy system away from fossil fuel into sustainable energies and energy efficiency, it is really quite questionable, the quality of life that our kids and grandchildren will be having not only in this country, but all over the world,” Sanders said.