States who received funding under EPA’s project aimed to expand solar energy for low-income communities
Nearly two dozen states are suing the Trump administration over its cancellation of a $7bn grant program aimed at expanding solar energy in low-income communities, according to court papers.
In a statement on Thursday, California’s attorney general, Rob Bonta, announced two lawsuits by a group of states that received grants under the Environmental Protection Agency’s Solar for All program. EPA’s administrator, Lee Zeldin, announced the termination of the program in August. The agency said in an email that it would not comment on pending litigation.
Arizona’s attorney general, Kris Mayes, said the cancellation of the program would affect 900,000 low-income households nationwide. Some 11,000 low-income households in Arizona will see a 20% spike in energy bills after the state lost $156m for Solar for All.
The lawsuit is among dozens the country’s 23 Democratic attorneys general have filed against the Trump administration on issues ranging from suspension of federal grants to immigration and deployment of national guard troops to cities. “Without this program, for many Arizonans, clean energy will be out of reach,” Mayes said in an online call.
