US Judge Rules EPA Unlawfully Ended $7 Billion Solar for All Grant Program
A federal judge in Rhode Island ruled that the EPA exceeded its authority when it terminated the $7 billion Solar for All grant program.
A federal judge in Rhode Island has ruled that the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) acted unlawfully when it terminated a $7 billion grant program designed to expand solar energy in low-income communities.
US District Judge Mary McElroy, sitting in Providence, found that the EPA under Administrator Lee Zeldin exceeded its authority when it rescinded grants that had already been awarded. The ruling came in a case brought by a labor union and several nonprofits and solar companies, including the Rhode Island AFL-CIO and Solar United Neighbors, some of which were not direct grant recipients but argued they stood to benefit from the program.
The Solar for All program was launched under former President Joe Biden. Congress approved the $7 billion in funding through the 2022 Inflation Reduction Act, Biden's signature climate investment law. In 2024, the EPA awarded grants to 60 nonprofit groups, tribes and states, stating at the time that the program would serve nearly one million households across most US states, lowering electricity costs and reducing emissions.
The One Big Beautiful Bill Act, signed into law by President Donald Trump in July 2025, eliminated the source of funding for the program. A month later, Zeldin announced its termination, describing it as a "boondoggle."
In her ruling, McElroy noted that under the 2025 law, the EPA retained over $3 billion in funding for necessary expenses related to the administration of grant programs. She said Congress had clearly intended for the agency to keep administering already-awarded grants.
"Defendants acted contrary to this intent, and with no other statutory authority, when they terminated the SFA program," the judge wrote.
McElroy, a Trump appointee who was initially nominated by Democratic President Barack Obama, vacated the EPA's termination of the program. The EPA and the plaintiffs did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
Related lawsuits over the termination of the program remain pending, and claims to recover money lost as a result of the grant terminations are pending in the Court of Federal Claims.