California this week joined a multi-state coalition and sued the Trump administration over its cancellation of a $7-billion grant program designed to help low-income households install solar panels on their homes.
In a lawsuit filed Wednesday, Atty. Gen. Rob Bonta, the California Public Utilities Commission, and representatives from nearly two dozen other states and Washington, D.C., accused the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency of unlawfully terminating the Solar for All Program — a move they say “denies states of critical funds they were depending on to increase access to solar energy in low-income and disadvantaged communities nationwide.”
The program was awarded to 60 recipients including states, tribes, regions and nonprofits under the Biden administration, and would have delivered residential solar projects to more than 900,000 households nationwide. The EPA announced its termination in August.
“At a time when energy bills are at a record high and only continuing to skyrocket, the Trump Administration is needlessly hampering an industry that can produce safe, reliable, and inexpensive energy,” Bonta said in a statement. “Solar for All was built to deliver relief for all Americans — by lowering energy bills for working families, reducing our carbon footprint, and creating high-quality union jobs that would bolster our economy.”
The lawsuit, filed Wednesday in the Court of Federal Claims, alleges that the EPA’s abrupt cancellation of the program was a breach of its contractual obligation, as the revoked funds had already been obligated to the recipients by Congress. Each state is seeking money damages.
Bonta’s office said a second suit, announced Thursday, alleges the administration violated federal laws in the program’s cancellation, including the Administrative Procedure Act and the U.S. Constitution. The suit will seek the termination to be declared unlawful, and that the EPA be ordered to reinstate the program, the attorney general’s office said. It is expected to be filed in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Washington.
Representatives with the EPA said Thursday that the agency does not comment on pending litigation, in keeping with a longstanding practice.
In August, EPA administrator Lee Zeldin said in a post on X that the Solar for All program was a “boondoggle” and that the agency no longer had statutory authority to administer the funds.
“One of the more shocking features of Solar For All was with regards to the massive dilution of the money, as many grants go through pass-through after pass-through after pass-through after pass-through with all of the middlemen taking their own cut — at least 15% by conservative estimates,” Zeldin said in his post. “What a grift.”
The program was awarded under the Biden administration’s Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund, a $27-billion program geared toward addressing climate change. Should the termination be allowed to stand, it would not only affect individual households but also stall progress on clean energy adoption nationwide, the plaintiffs said.
“The Trump Administration’s clawback of the Solar for All program is a direct assault on clean, affordable energy,” said California Energy Commission Chair David Hochschild in a statement.
In California alone nearly $250 million in funds for the buildout of community solar and storage projects was terminated. That includes $200 million to the California Public Utilities Commission for community solar systems, which would offer 20% monthly discounts on electricity bills to participating households primarily including lower- and middle-income families, state officials said. Many are renters or otherwise don’t have access to their own rooftops. The funding also included $9 million for workforce training in the state.
“The cancellation of Solar for All funding is not just bad policy, it is illegal,” read a statement from CPUC President Alice Reynolds. “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 destabilizing decision, but we will continue to progress toward clean energy for all Californians, driving economic growth and creating green jobs for a sustainable future.”
These are the 43rd and 44th lawsuits California has filed against the Trump administration this year.
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