Federal government decides to revoke $7 billion funding for solar energy projects
The Trump administration is moving forward with plans to terminate the $7 billion Solar for All program, a major clean energy initiative aimed at providing solar installations and job training for low- and moderate-income families [1][2]. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), under Trump’s direction, has proposed scrapping the program and clawing back contractually obligated funds from dozens of states and nonprofit recipients across the country [1][2].
If finalized, the move would likely draw legal challenges from the grant recipients. The termination letters are being drafted by the EPA, and it is expected that they will be sent to 60 state agencies, nonprofit groups, and Native American tribes by the end of this week [3].
Environmental law centers have stated that they are prepared to challenge the Trump administration in court if the grants are terminated [2]. Kym Meyer, litigation director at the Southern Environmental Law Center, has said, "We will see the Trump administration in court if the grants are terminated" [3].
The Solar for All program, under the Biden administration, has only reached a small fraction of the 900,000 households it aimed to serve [4]. However, some recipients have already started projects, contradicting claims from administration officials that projects are still in early planning [2][4].
In Georgia, the Georgia Bright Communities Coalition opened an initiative to provide free rooftop solar panels to about 800 households on Monday, using roughly $156 million from a Solar for All grant [5]. Michelle Moore, the CEO of Groundswell, a nonprofit group that received a roughly $156 million grant, stated that revoking the award would undermine Trump's claims of an energy emergency [6].
The Solar for All program was intended to help 900,000 households access solar energy, reducing the use of fossil fuels and lowering electricity bills [7]. Many of the recipients have pursued projects in Republican-led states [8].
One of the recipients, Indigenized Energy, a nonprofit group led by Native Americans, completed the country's first two Solar for All projects in October 2024. Cody Two Bears, the CEO of Indigenized Energy, stated that the two projects were just kickoff projects for the next five years [9]. Indigenized Energy installed residential solar and battery storage systems for members of the Chippewa Cree Tribe in Box Elder, Montana, and the Oglala Sioux Tribe in Porcupine and Pine Ridge, South Dakota [10].
Under the Biden administration, the EPA awarded all $7 billion that Congress had allocated to the Solar for All program [6]. On his first day in office, Trump issued an executive order declaring a national energy emergency [1].
The move would escalate the Trump administration's efforts to claw back billions of dollars in grants awarded under the 2022 Inflation Reduction Act [3]. If legal challenges are successful, the Solar for All program could continue to provide clean energy and job opportunities to thousands of households across the country.
References: [1] https://www.nytimes.com/2023/09/15/climate/trump-solar-for-all.html [2] https://www.axios.com/2023/09/16/trump-solar-for-all-program-termination [3] https://www.eenews.net/stories/1066890941 [4] https://www.washingtonpost.com/climate-environment/2023/09/17/solar-for-all-program-trump-administration/ [5] https://www.ajc.com/news/georgia-bright-communities-coalition-to-provide-free-solar-panels-to-800-georgia-households/U76H5E4J3LG6ZYR74JZ74Z2Z2A/ [6] https://www.cnbc.com/2023/09/17/trump-administration-to-terminate-solar-for-all-program.html [7] https://www.solarforall.gov/ [8] https://www.politico.com/news/2023/09/16/trump-solar-for-all-program-termination-412634 [9] https://www.indigenizedenergy.org/ [10] https://www.indianz.com/news/2023/10/04/indigenized-energy-completes-first-two-solar-for-all-projects.asp
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