The EPA killed $7B for solar. Now, groups in Georgia, other states are suing.
A coalition of groups sued the Donald Trump administration Monday for terminating $7 billion in grants this summer for free rooftop solar programs aimed at lower-income residents in Georgia and other states.
The lawsuit filed in U.S. District Court in Rhode Island against the Environmental Protection Agency and its administrator, Lee Zeldin, argues funding for the so-called “Solar For All” initiative was unlawfully terminated without Congressional approval.
Solar For All was a product of the 2022 Inflation Reduction Act, President Joe Biden’s signature climate and health law. The law created a $27 billion Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund, including $7 billion set aside for Solar For All programs aimed at underserved communities.
Among the grants the administration has tried to claw back is a $156 million award given to the Georgia BRIGHT initiative.
Georgia BRIGHT, an acronym for Building Renewables, Investing for Green, Healthy, Thriving Communities, launched this summer. It was expecting to help as many as 16,000 lower-income Georgia homeowners, renters and businesses install solar panels. Solar can dramatically reduce electricity costs for homes that receive adequate sun — the EPA itself previously estimated participants could save about $400 each year on their power bills.
The complaint was filed on behalf of nonprofits, solar installers, homeowners and other “intended beneficiaries” of the grants, including some from Georgia.
They include Sunpath Solar, a Georgia-based solar installer, and 2KB Energy Services, LLC, which assists businesses with energy efficiency and infrastructure upgrades.
Another plaintiff is Anh Nguyen, an Atlanta homeowner who applied for a free solar system through Georgia BRIGHT. Without the program, the complaint says, Nguyen would not have been able to afford the high up-front cost to install solar.
Nick Torrey, a senior attorney at the Southern Environmental Law Center, which filed the case along with Lawyers for Good Government and other legal advocacy nonprofits, said the program would have created jobs and given communities more access to “cheap, clean power.”
“Families all over the country were counting on energy bill relief that disappeared overnight when the administration unlawfully terminated Solar for All,” Torrey said in a statement.
An EPA spokeswoman declined to comment on the lawsuit, citing the agency’s “longstanding practice” not to comment on current or pending litigation.
Georgia BRIGHT launched with fanfare on Aug. 4. Within 24 hours, the program’s leaders said more than 500 families had already applied for the randomized drawing to choose who would receive a solar system at no cost.
Just three days later, Zeldin, the EPA leader, said the agency was terminating the grants. In a video posted Aug. 7 on X, Zeldin called Solar For All a “grift” and said the “One Big Beautiful Bill” Trump signed into law this summer eliminated the funding.
But the complaint argues the OBBB only rescinded “unobligated” funds. Since the Solar For All grants were already awarded, the lawsuit claims administration’s attempt to claw the money back is illegal.
The plaintiffs want the court to reinstate the grants and block the EPA from interfering in the dispersal of funds.
The case is the latest litigation involving the Trump administration’s moves to cancel or freeze funding that was allocated by Congress. Last month, the Supreme Court‘s six-member conservative majority ruled to temporarily allow the administration to withhold $4 billion in foreign aid payments for global health programs. But litigation in the matter is continuing and in their decision, the justices wrote that the ruling “should not be read as a final determination on the merits.”
About the Author
Drew Kann is a reporter at The Atlanta Journal-Constitution covering climate change and environmental issues. His passion is for stories that capture how humans are responding to a changing environment. He is a proud graduate of the University of Georgia and Northwestern University, and prior to joining the AJC, he held various roles at CNN.
