A group of over 20 US states are suing the Trump administration for the cancellation of the US$7 billion Solar For All Scheme.
Attorneys general from 20 states and representatives from three others are suing the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and its head, Lee Zeldin, for the “unlawful termination” and reclaiming of the Solar For All funding in August.
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The Solar For All scheme was created in 2022 to fund solar deployments in low-income and disadvantaged areas. The Massachusetts state energy department has claimed the scheme would have lowered energy bills by around 20% for up to 29,000 Massachusetts residents, and US Senator Ed Markey claimed it would have enabled “more than US$8 billion in savings” on energy bills across the country.
The office of Oregon state attorney general Dan Rayfield said his state and others had moved forward with planning, development and funding for solar projects with the backing of the Solar For All scheme and the sudden removal of the funding left them without the ability to proceed.
California attorney general Rob Bonta said the state was owed almost US$250 million by the EPA for community solar and energy storage projects planned to take place under the scheme.
The states have filed two lawsuits against the EPA. The first, filed with the Court of Federal Claims, alleges that the EPA breached its contracts with the states and seeks financial compensation.
The second, filed in Washington, claims the EPA “violated the Administrative Procedure Act and the US Constitution’s Separation of Powers Doctrine” in cancelling the scheme. They said Zeldin had “falsely claimed” that the EPA had no statutory authority or dedicated funding for the scheme, although Congress never instructed the EPA to recall Solar For All funds that had already been issued.
“The cancellation of Solar for All funding is not just bad policy, it is illegal,” said Alice Reynolds, president of the California Public Utilities Commission. “These grants were lawfully appropriated by Congress and intended to help lower energy costs and transition to a clean energy supply. Revoking the funding is a destabilising decision”.
“Working families are already feeling the strain of rising energy costs—and blocking Oregon’s clean energy programs only makes that worse,” said Rayfield. “This funding wasn’t just about protecting the environment; it was about lowering bills, creating jobs, helping communities transition to cleaner, more affordable power.”
Back in February, Zeldin sought to recall US$20 billion in EPA clean energy grants under the Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund. At the time, Zeldin—whose decisions are now being legally challenged by 20 attorneys general and public utilities commissions—criticised the EPA for “shovelling boatloads of cash to far-left, activist groups.”
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