A coalition of states and cities are taking EPA to court for canceling a $7 billion program designed to lower renewable energy costs for low-income households.
The lawsuit filed Thursday by 21 states and the District of Columbia contends that the agency unlawfully walked back funding promised as part of the “Solar for All” program created in 2022 as part of the Biden-era Inflation Reduction Act.
“The [Trump] administration is again targeting people struggling to get by in America, this time by gutting programs that help low-income households afford electricity,” said Washington state Attorney General Nick Brown, who is co-leading the lawsuit. “Congress passed a solar energy program to help make electricity costs more affordable, but the administration is ignoring the law and focused on the conspiracy theory that climate change is a hoax.”
EPA’s move has left Washington without access to $156 million in funding that had been awarded for solar projects in the Evergreen State, Brown’s office said. The Washington State Department of Commerce had devoted more than 5,000 hours of its employees’ time to deploy its solar programming later this year.
