Coalition Sues EPA Over Termination of ‘Solar for All’ Programme

PVTIME – On Monday, a coalition of labour unions, non-profit organisations, solar businesses and homeowners launched legal action against the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) in the US, challenging the lawfulness of its decision to end the ‘Solar for All’ programme.

This programme was established under the Inflation Reduction Act, which was passed by Congress in 2022. The Act allocated $7 billion from the $27 billion Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund (GGRF) to the EPA to deliver zero-emission technologies, such as rooftop solar, to low-income communities via competitive grants. In April 2024, the EPA announced that the programme would support over 900,000 low-income households, helping them to reduce their electricity costs and cut their carbon emissions.

However, progress stopped abruptly in July 2025 when the GGRF and ‘Solar for All’ were formally cancelled following the passage of the ‘Big Beautiful Act’. In August of that year, EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin announced the withdrawal of programme funding, stating on social media that the EPA no longer had the legal authority or funding to sustain it, and that this would save taxpayers $7 billion.

This decision triggered the lawsuit. The plaintiffs, including the Rhode Island AFL-CIO, the solar organisation Solar United Neighbors, and Sunpath Solar, argue that Zeldin exceeded his statutory authority and that Congress only allowed the EPA to reallocate uncommitted funds, not to revoke grant decisions that had already been announced. They also claim that the termination violates the Inflation Reduction Act and the Administrative Procedure Act, causing major economic harm to communities and small businesses that rely on grants. They are therefore seeking a declaratory judgement and injunctive relief to reinstate the programme.

The fallout is already visible. Sixty grant recipients are facing funding shortages, which are threatening over 6,000 jobs and halting plans to install solar panels for nearly one million households. Those with high energy costs are worst affected: US Department of Energy data shows that the energy burden on Native American households is 28% higher than average, and those in the southern states already have the highest energy bills in the country. Cancellation will further increase these costs.

Notably, in a similar recent case, the US Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit ruled that challenges to the EPA’s climate funding cancellations must go to the US Court of Federal Claims, as such disputes are ‘contractual in nature’ and governed by the Tucker Act.

The EPA has not yet publicly responded to the lawsuit, but concerns about policy reversals are growing. The Southern Environmental Law Center notes that this move breaks promises to vulnerable communities and risks eroding public trust in the federal government, with low-income groups set to be hit hardest amid rising electricity costs.