Dive Brief:
-
A coalition of 22 states and the District of Columbia on Wednesday sued the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin for ending the $7 billion Solar for All Program.
-
Separately, a coalition of 24 Solar for All grant recipients on Tuesday filed a breach-of-contract complaint in the U.S. Court of Federal Claims to recover damages for the EPA’s termination of Solar for All grants.
- The states’ legal actions follow similar lawsuits filed Monday by Harris County, Texas, and last week by solar companies and community and labor groups arguing that the EPA’s termination of the Solar for All program strips local governments of critical clean energy funding
Dive Insight:
The lawsuit, filed by 22 states in U.S. District Court in the Western District of Washington, alleges the EPA has “unilaterally and illegally terminated a multi-billion-dollar program designed to bring low-cost distributed solar energy to over 900,000 households in low-income and disadvantaged communities.”
The EPA abruptly ended the Solar for All program, created under the Clean Air Act’s Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund to help low-income communities adopt clean energy, as part of the One Big Beautiful Bill Act in July, the plaintiffs said in the court filing.
Because all $7 billion in Solar for All grants had already been obligated by August 2024 — before the OBBBA became law — the plaintiffs contend the EPA acted illegally by terminating the program and blocking access to their awarded funds, the states contend.
“Plaintiffs relied upon the SFA Program to meet benchmarks for clean energy production, to create jobs, to limit environmental damage caused by pollutants, and to generate energy cost savings for households, including in low-income and disadvantaged communities,” the lawsuit states.
The attorneys general of Arizona, Minnesota and Washington are leading the complaint, which was joined by the attorneys general of California, Colorado, Connecticut, the District of Columbia, Hawaiʻi, Illinois, Massachusetts, Maine, Maryland, Michigan, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, Oregon, Rhode Island and Vermont. The governors of Kentucky and Pennsylvania, as well as the Wisconsin Economic Development Corporation, also joined the complaint.
Connecticut Attorney General William Tong said in a statement that the EPA awarded the funds, which were created by Congress, so Connecticut could help low-income residents save millions of dollars on their energy bills. “Trump cannot unilaterally reverse course now, and we’re suing to make sure Connecticut gets every penny we are owed,” he said.
Connecticut was awarded $62.5 million last year in Solar for All funding to increase access to solar and energy storage for low-income communities, including multifamily affordable housing.
"As public servants, it is incumbent upon us to fight for fairness and justice, and that is what this lawsuit sets out to do,” California Energy Commission Chair David Hochschild said in a statement. “The state’s goal to advance a 100% clean energy future depends on programs like this that make solar and storage affordable for all.”
The EPA is terminating nearly $250 million in funds awarded to California, including $200 million to build community solar systems, primarily for lower- and middle-income families, and $9 million for workforce training.
The EPA stated that its longstanding practice is not to comment on any current or pending litigation.
