Advocacy Groups Sue Trump Administration; Seek Restoration of Funds

In August, the Trump Administration announced that it was terminating the Solar for All program created during the Biden Administration. It declared that it was even rescinding the $7 billion in grants already awarded, including $156 million awarded to a consortium of four sponsor agencies in North Carolina. 

Advocacy groups immediately asserted the cancellation and clawback of existing grants exceeded the Trump Administration’s legal authority. The groups then coordinated a campaign of advocacy to members of Congress in support of the funding. Now a coalition of plaintiffs from several states have filed a lawsuit in federal District Court in Rhode Island, challenging the rescission of grants already awarded. The Southern Environmental Law Center (SELC), based in North Carolina and covering several southeastern states including Georgia, is one of the public interest law firms representing the plaintiffs. 

Nationwide Restoration of Solar For All

While none of the named plaintiffs reside in North Carolina, the relief sought in the lawsuit includes a comprehensive nationwide restoration of Solar for All funding, which would include the North Carolina program benefiting lower-income North Carolinians. The relief sought includes a request to:

• hold unlawful and set aside EPA’s termination of the program;
• issue injunctive relief directing EPA to reinstate the program; 
• enjoin EPA from de-obligating or otherwise interfering with the availability of the funds;
• retain jurisdiction over this matter to ensure compliance with the above relief.

Energy Bill Relief Needed Nationwide

In the plaintiffs’ press release, SELC Senior Attorney Nick Torrey said, “Families all over the country were counting on energy bill relief that disappeared overnight when the administration unlawfully terminated Solar for All. This popular program was poised to bring more solar to our communities, provide jobs for the small businesses installing those projects, and help families get cheap, clean power. We’re asking the court to fix the Trump administration’s huge mistake.”

“Congress designed Solar for All grants to give local front-line communities the tools to lower household energy costs and ensure high-quality careers for a new generation with clean, renewable energy,” added Amy Romero, Chief Legal Counsel of Lawyers’ Committee for Rhode Island. “EPA’s unlawful termination halts the creation of hundreds of union jobs in Rhode Island, and then compounds the risk of utility shutoff and perpetuates energy insecurity in the very low-income households that Congress sought to protect with this program.”