A government subsidized home improvement project is an easy political sale. It gets the homeowners on board, because they will see an immediate drop in energy c

A government subsidized home improvement project is an easy political sale. It gets the homeowners on board, because they will see an immediate drop in energy costs, plus they also get to personally pocket the increased property values. Versus spending money on utility scale buildouts, where the benefits will come at an undetermined later date, unceremoniously, when the utility company lowers prices. And even after that happens your political enemies will still wag finger at the price tag of your project and ask why don't you spend that somewhere else. Inefficient and overly preferential towards homeowners? Sure. But better than a policy that will be dead by political reasons. It is what it is.