114.8.16(六)Samedi 16 août 2025
The Trump administration is preparing to
terminate $7 billion in federal grants intended to help low- and moderate-income
families install solar panels on their homes, according to two people briefed
on the matter.
The Environmental Protection Agency is
drafting termination letters to the 60 state agencies, nonprofit groups and
Native American tribes that received the grants under the “Solar for All”
program, with the goal of sending the letters by the end of this week, according
to the two people, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because they were
not authorized to comment publicly.
If finalized, the move would escalate the
Trump administration’s efforts to claw back billions of dollars in grants
awarded under the 2022 Inflation Reduction Act, President Joe Biden’s signature
climate law. And it would be certain to draw legal challenges from grant recipients,
many of whom have pursued projects in Republic-led states.
Representatives for the EPA did not
initially respond to a request for comment. After this article was published,
Carolyn Holran, an EPA spokesperson, said no final decision had been made on
the grants.
“EPA is working to ensure Congressional
intent is fully implemented in accordance with the law,” Holran wrote in an
email.
Already, the EPA has sought to cancel $20
billion out of the $27 billion in climate grants authorized by the Inflation
Reduction Act. That move has prompted a legal battle and a widening controversy
involving the EPA, the Justice Department, the FBI and Citybank, where the funds
are being held.
The Solar for All program was not only
intended to help low -and moderate-income homeowners go solar. It was also meant
to expand community solar initiatives, which bring solar power to people who
don’t own their own homes or otherwise can’t install their own panels.
The program was projected to help 900, 000
households access solar energy, according to estimates by the Biden
administration. The idea was to reduce the use of fossil fuels, the burning of
which is dangerously heating the planet, while also helping to lower
electricity bills. The participating households were expected to collectively
save more than $350 million each year on utility costs.
Under the Biden administration, the EPA awarded all $7 billion Congress had allocated to the Solar for All program. Of that money, roughly $53 million has been spent so far, according to an analysis by Atlas Public Policy, a research firm. (Maxine Joselow)
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