A $7 billion federal solar power program intended to provide power to low-income households may soon be axed, according to reports. This news has sparked criticism from multiple organizations.
Per the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, the “Solar for All” program provided 60 recipients with $7 billion in funding to “enable over 900,000 households in low-income and disadvantaged communities to benefit from distributed solar energy.” These programs are set to deliver on the Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund’s objectives by reducing greenhouse gas emissions and other air pollution. Additionally, they are expected to provide cost savings for households in need and “unlock” new solar markets.
The Solar for All program was part of legislation passed by Sen. Bernie Sanders (D-Vt.). He said it “will not only combat the existential threat of climate change by making solar energy available to working class families, it will also substantially lower the electric bills of Americans and create thousands of good-paying jobs.”
The New York Times reported Tuesday that President Donald Trump’s administration plans to terminate the program, citing two sources briefed on the matter. CBS News reported Wednesday that it had confirmed the Times’ account, also citing two sources.
“With the passage of the One Big Beautiful Bill, EPA is working to ensure Congressional intent is fully implemented in accordance with the law,” an EPA spokesperson told CBS News in an email when asked if the agency intends to terminate the program.
Late last month, Audacy reported that energy costs in the U.S. have been rising this year, despite Trump’s promises to lower them. Trump has also made supporting the growing artificial intelligence and cryptocurrency industries a priority, and experts have pointed to AI and crypto’s stress on the power grid as factors contributing to high energy costs.
Solar for All’s future might be on the line now, but the Trump administration has already canned a $4.9 billion loan guarantee for the Grain Belt Express wind power project. If it went forward, the 800-mile transmission line “would carry mostly wind-generated power from the Plains to some of the most strained parts of the nation’s power grid,” said POLITICO, which noted that experts where left “baffled” at the administration’s decision to terminate it. However, it also said the president prefers fossil fuels and nuclear power.
According to CBS, the Office of Management and Budget has reached out to the EPA about terminating the program. It said that the EPA has not come to a final decision and that none of the 60 recipients had been officially notified if their funding had been terminated as of Tuesday evening.
Recipients of the Solar for All funds include Groundswell, a nonprofit that works in eight Southern states. Groundswell received $156 million in grant funding and it has already broken ground on 24 megawatts of solar projects worth over $20 million.
“This program covers every single state and U.S. territories, more than 60% of the awards went to state energy offices,” Groundswell CEO Michelle Moore told CBS News of the Solar for All program, both in red and blue states.
In response to the news, Southern Environmental Law Center slammed any plans to end the Solar for All program in a Tuesday statement and said it would take the administration to court. It noted that families in the South pay the highest energy bills in the country.
“If leaders in the Trump administration move forward with this unlawful attempt to strip critical funding from communities across the United States, we will see them in court,” said Kym Meyer, SELC litigation director. “We have already seen the immense good this program has done on the ground and we won’t let it be snatched away to score political points.”
A source also told CBS News that both Republicans and Democrats, have reached out to the EPA and asked it to reconsider ending the program. Many of these recipients are state energy and environmental offices in both red and blue states, the outlet said.
CEO Cody Two Bears of Indigenized Energy, a group that belongs to a coalition of tribes awarded more than $135 million in Solar for All funding to build solar projects in Montana, North Dakota, South Dakota, Wisconsin and Wyoming. He said cutting the program would continue a legacy of distrust for the federal government as Indigenous families face higher energy burdens than most people in the U.S.
“Tribes have always endured broken promises for many generations at the federal level, and this is just another broken promise that tribal nations have to face from our federal government,” Cody Two Bears told CBS News.
Other grounds that have denounced plans to end the program include the League of Conservation Voters and the Sierra Club.
“The Trump administration gutting critical funding for community solar projects is all about giving away even more profits to Big Polluters by cutting clean energy jobs and raising energy costs on families who cannot afford it,” said LCV Legislative Director David Shadburn in a statement.
In its press release, the Sierra Club said the Solar for All program is expected to expand solar energy options to low-income communities across the country. Furthermore, it said the solar energy sector employed more than 263,000 Americans as of 2023 and that ending the program would be just one of the administration’s actions against alternative energy sources in recent weeks.
“Solar energy is cheaper, cleaner, and more reliable than dirty fossil fuels. By rescinding these grants, Donald Trump is denying our most vulnerable communities a resource that would have helped alleviate their financial burdens and improved their quality of life,” said Sierra Club Climate Policy Director Patrick Drupp.