More than 20 U.S. states have sued the Trump administration for halting a $7 billion solar energy subsidies program aimed at disadvantaged communities, calling the decision unlawful and harmful to climate and equity goals.
The lawsuit over solar energy subsidies
At least 23 states have filed a lawsuit in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Washington, arguing that the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) illegally terminated the program. Approved in 2022, the plan was designed to deliver low-cost solar power to more than 900,000 households in low-income or disadvantaged areas.
The initiative, known as Solar For All, was part of the Inflation Reduction Act. Through it, the EPA had already allocated federal solar energy subsidies for rooftop and community solar projects. The Biden administration’s goal was to cut carbon pollution and make solar energy more affordable for nearly one million American households.
State attorneys general challenge the Trump administration
“Families in Arizona are already facing skyrocketing electric bills, and I will not allow the EPA to walk away from its commitment to fund solar energy projects that would reduce costs for over 11,000 Arizona families,” Arizona Attorney General Kris Mayes told Axios. “The funding for energy infrastructure has already been allocated to our state and is owed.”
The lawsuit names the EPA and its administrator Lee Zeldin as defendants and is led by the attorneys general of Washington, Minnesota, and Arizona. Joining them are the Governor of Kentucky and the attorneys general of California, Colorado, Connecticut, D.C., Hawaii, Illinois, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, Oregon, Rhode Island, and Vermont.
In a separate lawsuit filed before the U.S. Court of Federal Claims in Washington, D.C., the states are also seeking damages for the abrupt termination of the program.
The end of the Solar For All program
In August, the EPA announced the end of the program and shortly after withdrew nearly 90% of the grant funds from state accounts. Zeldin at the time called the initiative a “scam” and a “waste.”
The One Big Beautiful Bill Act, signed in July by the U.S. president, eliminated $7 billion in federal solar energy subsidies. Trump’s decision effectively denied affordable clean energy to those who needed it most, locking American citizens into a future tied to fossil fuels.
The president had already scaled back federal support for solar and wind power and recently told the United Nations that renewable sources are unreliable.
