The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) will try to claw back $7 billion doled out by the Biden administration to provide rooftop solar power in disadvantaged communities.
Under the Biden-era program, money left the federal government and was distributed to 60 entities including states, nonprofits, tribes and local governments.
Those entities were expected to use the $7 billion passed as part of the Democrats’ 2022 Inflation Reduction Act to fund subgrantees who would help get the solar energy installed.
EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin announced in a post on the social platform X on Thursday that he intends to end the program, known as Solar for All, “for good, saving US taxpayers ANOTHER $7 BILLION!”
He said in a video accompanying his post that “very little money has actually been spent.”
“Recipients are still very much in the early planning phase, not the building and construction process,” Zeldin said.
This is not the first time the EPA has sought to claw back Biden-era funds. It previously sought to claw back $20 billion in “Green Bank” funding that, like Solar for All, has already been distributed to various organizations.
However, since the prior effort, Republicans passed their “big, beautiful bill,” which repealed “unobligated balances” from the $7 billion fund.
The law and the EPA’s action could kick off a legal battle about what constitutes “unobligated” money that is subject to repeal.
Zeldin argued in his video that the agency “no longer has the authority to administer the program or the appropriated funds to keep this boondoggle alive.”
However, at least some recipients are already vowing to push back.
After the EPA’s plans were first reported by The New York Times this week, Arizona Gov. Katie Hobbs (D) released a statement saying “Solar for All Arizonans belongs to the people of Arizona, and I refuse to let it be ripped away without a fight.”
“President Trump ran on lowering costs and creating jobs. Gutting Solar for All will do the opposite,” Hobbs said. “I urge the Trump administration to reverse this reckless decision that will make our air dirtier, our energy bills higher, and our economy weaker. I will continue to fight for the clean and affordable energy future Arizonans want and deserve, and will not let the federal government strip the program away from the people of Arizona.”
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