The CHARGE Act of 2025 directs the Secretary of Energy to set up a grant program, administered through the Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy, that funds installation of solar energy systems and energy storage technologies at Federally Qualified Health Centers (FQHCs) and provides related technical assistance. Eligible applicants include FQHCs themselves, state or local governments, nonprofit membership organizations with FQHC members, and provider consortia majority-owned or controlled by FQHCs.
This targeted funding aims to improve continuity of care and lower energy operating costs for safety-net providers, especially during outages and extreme weather. By channeling federal dollars directly toward community health infrastructure, the bill connects energy resilience to health access in underserved areas — but it stops short of prescribing long-term maintenance, selection criteria, or coordination with existing federal programs.
At a Glance
What It Does
The bill requires DOE to create a competitive grant program that awards funds only for 'qualifying projects'—either installing solar or energy storage at FQHC sites or providing technical assistance related to those systems. Applicants must submit project descriptions and, when relevant, explain how they will select FQHCs to receive the work.
Who It Affects
Directly affected entities are FQHCs, state and local governments partnering on projects, nonprofit membership organizations with FQHC members, and provider consortia majority-owned by FQHCs; indirectly affected parties include local installers, energy service companies, and the DOE office that will run the program.
Why It Matters
This is a focused federal effort to fund energy resilience for primary care safety-net providers rather than general infrastructure grants. The program's structure — eligible applicant types, allowable uses, and a cross-reference to the Internal Revenue Code definition of storage — will shape which projects qualify and how they integrate with tax incentives and state programs.
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What This Bill Actually Does
Within 180 days after the Act becomes law, the Secretary of Energy must establish a grant program run through the Assistant Secretary for Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy. The statute gives broad application authority to DOE—applications should include a description of the proposed qualifying project and, if an intermediary applies, a plan for selecting participating FQHCs.
The bill does not prescribe selection criteria, cost share, or performance metrics, leaving those procedural details to DOE rulemaking.
Grant money can only be spent on 'qualifying projects,' which the bill narrowly defines as either (1) installing a solar energy system or an energy storage technology at one or more FQHCs, or (2) providing technical assistance tied to the design, installation, operation, or use of such systems. That means funds may pay for equipment, installation, or advisory services, but cannot be repurposed for unrelated capital or operating expenses.The statute authorizes $50 million per fiscal year from 2026 through 2030 to implement the program.
Eligible applicants are limited to units of state or local government, FQHCs, nonprofit membership organizations that count FQHCs among their members, and provider consortia or networks majority-owned or controlled by FQHCs. The bill explicitly defines 'solar energy system' to include engineered assemblies (photovoltaic panels or solar thermal collectors) plus supporting delivery infrastructure, and it ties the statutory meaning of 'energy storage technology' to the definition in section 48E(c)(2) of the Internal Revenue Code, thereby importing tax-code language into program eligibility.Practical consequences flow from those definitions and omissions: DOE will need to decide how to verify that proposed equipment matches the IRC-linked storage definition, how to evaluate technical assistance proposals versus hardware installation, how to allocate the fixed annual appropriation across competing applicants, and whether to require maintenance plans or lifecycle funding commitments as a condition of award.
The Five Things You Need to Know
The Secretary must set up the grant program no later than 180 days after enactment.
Congress authorized $50,000,000 per year for fiscal years 2026–2030 to implement this program.
Grant funds are limited to 'qualifying projects'—either installing solar or storage at FQHCs or providing related technical assistance; funds cannot be used for other purposes.
The bill imports the Internal Revenue Code definition of 'energy storage technology' by reference to section 48E(c)(2), which could limit eligible battery types to those recognized under that tax provision.
Eligible applicants include not only FQHCs but also state/local governments, nonprofit membership organizations with FQHC members, and provider consortia majority-owned or controlled by FQHCs.
Section-by-Section Breakdown
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Program establishment and administrative home
This subsection requires DOE to stand up the grant program within 180 days of enactment and assigns administration to the Assistant Secretary for Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy. Practically, that means EERE must issue guidance, set scoring criteria, and allocate staffing and contracting resources; the statutory deadline forces a compressed rulemaking and program design timeline for a new federal grant.
Application requirements and permitted uses
DOE may award grants when applicants submit forms and information the Secretary deems appropriate; the statute signals flexibility, allowing DOE to shape eligibility documentation and review standards. Importantly, grants may only fund qualifying projects (installation or technical assistance), which constrains awardees' budgeting and excludes ancillary health center needs. The bill also contemplates intermediary applicants selecting FQHCs, but leaves selection methods undefined.
Funding authorization
Congress authorizes $50 million annually for five fiscal years (2026–2030) to carry out the program. This is an authorization, not a direct appropriation; actual annual funding will still require appropriation action. The finite authorization establishes a ceiling that DOE must distribute across applicants and years, raising choices about award size, grant rounds, and whether to prioritize larger, multi-site projects or smaller, local installations.
Definitions; scope of covered technologies
Definitions narrow the program's scope. 'Solar energy system' includes PV or solar thermal and supporting infrastructure, clarifying that mounting, inverters, and interconnection hardware count as part of the system. 'Energy storage technology' is defined by reference to IRC section 48E(c)(2), which imports tax-code criteria into eligibility and could exclude emerging or unconventional storage solutions not recognized under that section. The definition of 'eligible entity' expands access to intermediaries, not just site owners.
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Explore Healthcare in Codify Search →Who Benefits and Who Bears the Cost
Every bill creates winners and losers. Here's who stands to gain and who bears the cost.
Who Benefits
- Federally Qualified Health Centers — Receive capital and technical support to add solar and batteries, which can lower electricity bills and provide backup power to maintain clinical operations during outages.
- Patients in underserved communities — Stand to gain from improved continuity of primary care services during extreme weather and grid interruptions, reducing care disruptions for populations with limited access to alternatives.
- Nonprofit membership organizations and FQHC consortia — Gain a new funding avenue to coordinate multi-site projects and scale technical assistance across networks, strengthening regional resilience strategies.
- Local solar installers and energy service companies — See increased demand for design, installation, and O&M contracts tied to awarded projects, creating revenue opportunities in communities with FQHCs.
- State and local governments partnering on projects — Can leverage grant awards to advance local resilience goals and integrate health centers into community emergency planning.
Who Bears the Cost
- Federal budget (Treasury) — The program creates a multi-year authorization of $250 million in potential appropriations across FY2026–2030, which competes with other federal priorities.
- Department of Energy (EERE) — Must allocate staff, develop application and oversight mechanisms, and run the competitive process within the 180-day startup window, adding administrative burden.
- Small FQHCs without grant-writing capacity — May face transactional costs and administrative hurdles to apply or to host installations; those lacking intermediaries could be disadvantaged unless technical assistance awards cover capacity building.
- Applicants and intermediaries — Will incur compliance costs to document eligibility, meet DOE reporting requirements, and ensure installations meet program definitions tied to the tax code.
- Local grid operators and utilities — May need to handle interconnection requests and potential grid upgrades for onsite generation and storage, costs that the statute does not explicitly fund.
Key Issues
The Core Tension
The central dilemma is whether to prioritize rapid deployment of solar and storage to as many safety-net clinics as possible or to require the administrative rigor and long-term funding commitments that ensure installations remain operable and deliver resilience over decades; speed and breadth favor immediate access, while oversight and lifecycle funding favor sustainable outcomes but slow distribution.
The bill focuses narrowly on capital deployment and technical assistance but leaves critical implementation details to DOE: selection criteria, scoring priorities, cost-sharing rules, maintenance obligations, and metrics to measure resilience or energy savings. Because the statute does not require awardees to fund long-term operations, recipients could face unfunded lifecycle costs for batteries and PV systems, which may undermine intended benefits unless DOE conditions awards on maintenance plans or leverages co-funding.
The cross-reference to IRC section 48E(c)(2) is a double-edged sword: it provides a ready-made technical standard for storage but risks excluding new storage chemistries or distributed solutions not yet recognized in tax law.
Another tension arises from eligibility design: allowing state/local governments and nonprofit intermediaries to apply can increase reach through coordinated procurement, but it also creates opportunities for intermediary capture of funds or project selection that prioritizes administrative efficiency over need. The statute's fixed authorization creates a trade-off between funding larger multi-site projects (which may deliver economies of scale) and spreading smaller awards across many individual FQHCs to address equity and local resilience.
Finally, the bill is silent on coordination with existing FEMA, HRSA, or state resilience programs, which could lead to duplicative funding, gaps in coverage for interconnection and grid upgrades, or missed opportunities for stacking federal incentives and tax credits.
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