Courts Rule Trump’s $7 Billion Solar Cut Unlawful, but the Money Is Still Frozen
Two federal courts ruled in September that the Environmental Protection Agency unlawfully ended a $7 billion program to bring solar power to low-income households, but the money is still frozen. On Oct. 26, members of Congress demanded that the agency release it at once. The $156.12 million set aside for Pennsylvania is stalled as well.
Solar for All grew out of the $27 billion Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund created by the 2022 Inflation Reduction Act. The Environmental Protection Agency awarded $7 billion to 60 recipients, including states, tribal governments and the District of Columbia, to install rooftop and community solar for more than 900,000 low-income households. The goal was to cut their electric bills by more than 20 percent and build more than 4 gigawatts of distributed solar power.
Pennsylvania received $156.12 million of that money. The Pennsylvania Energy Development Authority leads the program, joined by Philadelphia Green Capital Corp., the nonprofit green bank affiliated with the Philadelphia Energy Authority. The plan called for solar on 12,000 homes over five years through leases with no upfront cost. The Environmental Protection Agency approved the work plan in June 2025.
Then on Aug. 7, 2025, EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin announced the program’s end. He called it a boondoggle and said the agency no longer had the legal authority to run it, because the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, signed that July, had repealed the provision that created the fund. The money has been frozen ever since.
The courts did not side with the agency. On Sept. 18, Judge Mary S. McElroy of the U.S. District Court for the District of Rhode Island declared the termination unlawful and vacated it. McElroy, appointed by President Donald Trump, wrote that Congress’s clear intent was for the agency to keep administering grants that had already been obligated. Four days later, on Sept. 22, Judge Tanya S. Chutkan of the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia reached the same conclusion in a case over Harris County, Texas, and its $250 million grant. The Environmental Protection Agency says it is reviewing both rulings and has not decided whether to appeal.
On Oct. 26, Sen. Bernie Sanders and Reps. Emanuel Cleaver and Lizzie Fletcher led 111 of their colleagues in a letter to the agency. “Currently, nearly $7 billion that Congress allocated to slash utility bills, create jobs, and strengthen the electric grid is sitting idle in the EPA’s bank account instead of working to benefit American families,” the lawmakers wrote.
Solar for All is not the only program that has been cut off. A Department of Agriculture program that helped rural America install solar has also been effectively closed by a new rule.
The Rural Energy for America Program offers grants and loan guarantees to help farmers and rural small businesses install renewable energy systems like solar. Farmers lower their electric bills and can sell surplus power to the grid.
The department published a final rule on Oct. 1, and it took effect on Oct. 16. Solar or wind systems on farmland are now ineligible for support if any component comes from a country designated as a foreign adversary. Because most solar components are made in China, the change effectively ends new farm solar support through the program. Applicants must also run their systems for a year before they can seek reimbursement. The department had already frozen grant payments early this year and suspended new awards in March until the rules were rewritten.
The administration said in an executive order in July 2025 that taxpayers would no longer subsidize what it called expensive and unreliable energy sources like wind and solar. The Agriculture Department said farmland should be used to grow food.
Pushback has followed. The Iowa Farmers Union sued on Sept. 28, arguing that the department’s actions violated the Administrative Procedure Act. Supporters say the program lowered farmers’ electric bills and let them sell the power they did not use.
The courts have twice overturned the termination, but the money is not flowing while the Environmental Protection Agency weighs an appeal, and the Pennsylvania program has yet to start operating. The solar aid was cut not by a presidential veto but by executive order, legislation and rule changes. The veto is the fight ahead. Democrats have promised to push clean energy expansion when they take control of Congress in January, and President Donald Trump has vowed to use his veto power aggressively. Democrats lack the votes to override a veto, so major changes will need Republican support, and experts expect a stalemate at the federal level. There is still room for bipartisan agreement on permitting reform and on extending clean energy tax credits, and Democratic victories for governor in Texas and Georgia point to growing momentum at the state level. Trump has also said that after a couple of months of vetoes, he and Democrats will find ways to work together.
