Last week, the Trump Administration announced it was terminating the Solar for All program. This includes cancelling the $7 billion in grants already made across the country. Clean energy advocates immediately condemned the move as illegal, calling on members of Congress to push back against the attempt to cancel Solar for All.

Giving Profits to Big Polluters

“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 League of Conservation Voters (LCV) Legislative Director David Shadburn. 

“Solar for All clean energy projects are meant to help communities who need it the most, including communities with low wealth and communities of color who already experience the worst impacts of the climate crisis and environmental injustice. Clean energy is the fastest and cheapest way to bring new energy online and help reduce energy costs for working families.”

Gutting Impacts in North Carolina

“If this funding is rescinded, here’s what’s at stake for our state,” said Michelle “Meech” Carter, Clean Energy Campaigns Director for the NC League of Conservation Voters (NCLCV):

• $156 million in funding that helps low-wealth families, renters, and rural communities access affordable, sustainable energy;
• Over 17,000 jobs, many in rural areas where good jobs are already hard to come by;
• More than $20 billion in clean energy investments that support local businesses and economies.

Gutting Impacts Nationwide

North Carolina’s losses are part of the enormous negative impacts that ending Solar for All will have. Nationwide, rescinding the $7 billion in grants made would lose these benefits:

• Bringing clean energy to nearly 900,000 low-income households. 
• Saving low-income households $400 a year on their electricity bills. 
• Creating more than 200,000 jobs, many in the very communities the program aimed to serve. 
• Cutting toxic pollution by over 30 million metric tons.

Democratic U.S. House members from North Carolina are already speaking out against the threatened loss of $156 million in Solar for All funding awarded in April 2024 to a coalition of four North Carolina sponsors (N.C. Clean Energy Fund, the N.C. Department of Environmental Quality, Advanced Energy and the N.C. Clean Energy Technology Center). 

“We strongly urge you to reverse this decision, which will raise energy costs for our constituents, eliminate North Carolina jobs, and negatively impact communities across our state,” wrote U.S. Representatives Deborah Ross, Valerie Foushee, Don Davis and Alma Adams in a letter to EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin.

“North Carolina has long been a leader in the clean energy economy, and this Administration’s actions over the past seven months are putting billions of dollars in economic investment in our state at risk. Again, we strongly urge you to reconsider this reckless and illegal course of action.” 

“We cannot afford this. Crushing community solar programs harms our comunidades, who will lose access to affordable energy and face higher costs as temperatures continue to rise,” said Chispa Senior Director Estefany Carrasco-González. 

“The Trump administration is determined to make costs go up for our families, take away good clean energy jobs, and harm the health and safety of our environment, especially in communities disproportionately on the frontlines of the climate crisis and pollution.”

Take Action

“Our leaders must demand that this funding is released immediately to the communities it was already obligated to — we know this fight continues and will keep fighting for all communities to have cleaner air, cleaner water, and a healthier planet for our current and future generations.” We encourage you to contact your members of Congress and urge them to support the Solar for All funds.