EPA Wants to End Solar For All Program

The head of the Environmental Protection Agency recently announced that it is terminating a $7 billion program to provide funding to states, nonprofits and other agencies to allow low-income communities add solar power.

The Solar for All program was part of the Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund in the Inflation Reduction Act approved by Congress during the Biden administration. The present Trump administration’s recent passage of a tax and spending megabill included a repeal of the Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund, according EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin.

The program cancellation was announced by Zeldin in a social media post, in which he said that the agency no longer has the statutory authority to administer the program, calling it a “boondoggle.” President Trump, as one of his first actions after taking office, declared a national energy emergency. His administration has focused on adding more fossil fuels while cutting funding for renewable energy projects.

However, the Solar for All money has already been awarded to 60 grant recipients in every state, including Pennsylvania. In many states, projects are already underway. Challenges to the decision are likely.

The Pennsylvania Energy Development Authority was awarded $156 million for low-income solar under the program, but the state legislature required its own approval in order to accept the money. A stalemate has ensued over that approval, and the EPA action may make it less likely to occur.

Opponents of the move argued that the program would help low-income households keep energy costs affordable by adding solar. The National Resources Defense Council said it would reduce household electricity costs by 20 percent, lowering electricity bills for each household by about $400 a year.