The federal Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has moved to end a $7 billion Biden-era grant program designed to pay for residential solar panels.
Known as Solar for All, this program was first launched as part of the Inflation Reduction Act in April of 2022 to fund residential solar projects in low- and middle-income areas.
In 2024, Maine received $62 million through this program to bring solar power to “low-income households and communities,” while simultaneously “creating job and economic development opportunities in the growing clean energy industry.”
[RELATED: Maine Receives $62 Million Federal Grant to Expand Solar Power Access for Low-Income Households]
According to a social media post from EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin, the One Big Beautiful Bill eliminated the Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund, under which the Solar for All program was resourced.
In this statement, he emphasized how much of the funding distributed through this program is passed through multiple entities en route to its final destination, suggesting that this “dilutes” taxpayers’ dollars, alleging that “each tak[es] their own cut off the top.”
He also noted that most of the funds from this program have not yet been spent by states, suggesting that most places are still in the early planning phases.
Atlas Public Policy found that only $53 million out of the $7 billion awarded has actually been spent so far.
“The bottom line is this,” he wrote, “EPA no longer has the statutory authority to administer the program or the appropriated funds to keep this boondoggle alive.”
He then added: “Today, the Trump EPA is announcing that we are ending Solar for All for good, saving US taxpayers ANOTHER $7 BILLION!”
In a statement released Friday, the Maine Governor’s Energy Office (GEO) responded to the federal government’s revocation of the state’s $62 million share of this funding.
“Thousands of Maine people stood to benefit from lower energy bills delivered by the Solar for All program. Terminating this funding doesn’t help Maine people, it only hurts them,” said Dan Burgess, Director of the Governor’s Energy Office.
“Canceling the program deprives Maine of access to affordable solar, energy storage, and the skilled electricians, installers, and construction workers needed to meet our energy and economic needs now and in the future,” Burgess added. “We remain committed to this program and will review all options to preserve it.”
The GEO went on to explain that the EPA approved the state’s plan to implement the Solar for All Program, with “competitive funding opportunities planned for this year.” Benefits were expected to reach Mainers by 2026.
It was also indicated in Friday’s statement that the GEO is in consultation with the Maine Attorney General’s Office to determine next steps.
Click Here to Read the Full Statement
District One Democrat Rep. Chellie Pingree also issued a statement in response to the EPA’s announcement, suggesting that the federal government had moved to “illegally terminate” this funding.
“At a time when electricity prices are increasing and projected to continue to rise due to other actions of this administration, it is unconscionable that you would seek to deny access to clean, cheap energy to those who can least afford it,” Rep. Pingree said.
Click Here to Read Rep. Pingree’s Full Statement
This move comes amidst a broader effort by the Trump Administration to roll back environmental regulations and other climate-related policies.
For example, the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) has taken two key actions in the past week in pursuit of bringing an end to offshore wind development throughout the country, including in the Gulf of Maine.
[RELATED: Federal Government Moves to End Offshore Wind Development, Including in the Gulf of Maine]
At the end of July, BOEM said that it would be rescinding all designated Wind Energy Areas (WEAs) on the U.S. Outer Continental Shelf (OCS), a move in alignment with an Executive Order issued by the President on his first day in office.
On Monday, the agency followed up on this, announcing that it would also be rolling back a section of regulations that outlined the renewable energy lease sale schedule.
The EPA has also announced that it has begun the process of rolling back an Obama-era declaration that has served as the basis for the government’s authority to regulate greenhouse gas emissions.
Known as the Endangerment Finding, this 2009 declaration states that the “current and projected concentrations” of greenhouse gases “threaten the public health and welfare of current and future generations.”
By repealing the agency’s prior declaration, the federal government would have significantly less authority to promulgate and enforce climate-related regulations.
