State attorneys general sue Trump administration for canceled solar program funding

[Thiệu Ngô]

The attorneys general of more than a dozen states on Thursday sued the Trump administration over the termination of $7 billion in funding intended for affordable solar energy projects across the U.S.

By ALEXA ST. JOHN and JENNIFER McDERMOTT

The coalition, which also included the District of Columbia and other stakeholders, argued in the lawsuit that the Environmental Protection Agency’s cancellation of the Solar for All program violated the law governing federal agencies and the constitutional separation of powers. The program was introduced in 2022 as part of former President Joe Biden’s landmark climate law, intended to make the renewable energy accessible to nearly 1 million Americans.

Increasing the use of solar energy reduces reliance on coal, oil and natural gas. Burning these fossil fuels for electricity is a primary driver of climate change globally because they emit greenhouse gases that trap the Earth’s heat.

The EPA rescinded the Solar for All funds in August after President Donald Trump’s massive tax and spending law passed in Congress a month earlier, with Administrator Lee Zeldin calling the program a “boondoggle.”

The EPA said in an email Thursday that it does not comment on pending litigation.

Thursday’s filing in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Washington was led by Washington Attorney General Nick Brown, Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison and Arizona Attorney General Kris Mayes, and argues the termination of the funding was unlawful. It names the EPA and Zeldin as defendants.

Joining the lawsuit are the attorneys general in California, Colorado, Connecticut, the District of Columbia, Hawaii, Illinois, Massachusetts, Maine, Maryland, Michigan, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, Oregon, Rhode Island and Vermont, all of whom are Democrats, as well as the governor of Kentucky, the chair of the Pennsylvania Energy Development Authority, and the Wisconsin Economic Development Corporation.

“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,” Brown said in a statement.

Advocates have touted the program not only for its benefits to lower-income communities needing access to money for clean-energy projects, but also for local workforces and to keep electricity prices reasonable.

“At a time when energy bills are at a record high and only continuing to skyrocket, the Trump Administration is needlessly hampering an industry that can produce safe, reliable, and inexpensive energy,” California Attorney General Rob Bonta said in a statement.

A similar group of states filed a separate lawsuit Wednesday in the Court of Federal Claims against the Trump administration arguing that the program funding cancellation is a breach of contract and said they are seeking to recover monetary damages.

This week’s litigation ramps up the pressure on the Trump administration over the program. Nonprofit organizations and other groups sued over Solar for All funding for similar reasoning earlier this month, and Harris County in Texas filed a lawsuit last week over its award. More than two dozen Democratic senators also wrote a letter to Zeldin this week calling for the program to be restored.

Solar for All was affiliated with another $20 billion in green funding, formally known as the Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund, terminated by the Trump administration in March.

The canceled $27 billion is just one example of the efforts the administration has taken against clean energy. Trump has invested in fossil fuels such as oil, natural gas and coal while slashing climate regulation, standing in the way of clean energy developments and reversing environmental policy.