EPA Terminates $7 Billion ‘Solar for All’ Program Under Trump Administration

Washington, The Gulf Observer: The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) on Thursday officially terminated the $7 billion Solar for All grant program — a major Biden-era initiative aimed at expanding solar energy access to more than 900,000 low-income households across the country. The decision marks a significant rollback in federal support for renewable energy under President Donald Trump’s administration.

The Solar for All initiative, originally funded through the 2022 Inflation Reduction Act, was designed to support rooftop solar installations and community solar gardens. Grants were awarded to 60 recipients including U.S. states, tribal governments, and regional organizations to promote clean energy adoption and lower household electricity bills.

EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin announced the program’s termination via social media, stating that the legal authority and allocated funding for the program had been rescinded under the recently passed tax-and-spending legislation signed by President Trump. This law eliminated the Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund, which included $20 billion for clean energy projects and $7 billion specifically for the solar program.

“The bottom line is this: EPA no longer has the statutory authority to administer the program or the appropriated funds to keep this boondoggle alive,” Zeldin declared. “Today, the Trump EPA is announcing that we are ending Solar for All for good, saving US taxpayers ANOTHER $7 BILLION!”

The decision has triggered immediate backlash from lawmakers, environmental groups, and clean energy advocates. Senator Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), who championed the Solar for All initiative, called the action “illegal and insane.”

“At a time when working families are getting crushed by skyrocketing energy costs and the planet is literally burning, sabotaging this program isn’t just wrong — it’s absolutely insane,” Sanders said in a statement. “We will fight back to preserve this enormously important program.”

According to data from Atlas Public Policy, only $53 million of the total $7 billion in grants had been spent so far, with most projects still in their planning stages. Legal experts argue the EPA lacks authority to reverse funds already appropriated and contractually obligated by Congress.

Stephanie Bosh, Senior Vice President of the Solar Energy Industries Association, condemned the move, asserting that the grants are already in motion and cannot be revoked retroactively.

“These grants are delivering billions of dollars of investment to red and blue states alike,” Bosh said. “Solar is one of the cheapest and cleanest sources of energy — at a time when we need it the most.”

Environmental advocates have vowed legal action. Kym Meyer, litigation director at the Southern Environmental Law Center, stated, “If the administration wants to move forward with canceling Solar for All funds, we will see them in court.”

Rhode Island Senator Sheldon Whitehouse, the top Democrat on the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee, denounced the program’s cancellation as a betrayal of American households and climate priorities.

“Trump is — yet again — putting his fossil fuel megadonors first,” Whitehouse said. “This move will hike electricity costs and make our power grid less reliable.”

The EPA insists that the administration’s tax and spending law gives it the authority to halt the funding, though a prior federal court ruling in April had already prohibited the agency from freezing the grants unilaterally.

The dismantling of the Solar for All program is the latest in a series of deregulatory actions by the Trump administration that critics say undermine efforts to address climate change and transition the U.S. to a cleaner energy future.