EPA cancels $7 billion Biden-era grant program to boost solar energy
It's the latest Trump administration move hindering the nation's shift to cleaner energy.
The funding, part of Democratic President Joe Biden's Solar for All program, was awarded to 60 recipients including states, tribes and regions for investments such as rooftop solar and community solar gardens.
Solar, a renewable energy, is widely regarded as a way to introduce cleaner power onto the electrical grid and lower energy bills for American consumers.
EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin said in a statement on social media that authority for the program was eliminated under the tax-and-spending bill signed last month by Republican President Donald Trump. The law eliminated the Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund that was approved under the 2022 Inflation Reduction Act. The fund set aside $20 billion in 'green bank' money for community development projects to boost renewable energy, and an additional $7 billion for the solar program.
'The bottom line is this: EPA no longer has the statutory authority to administer the program or the appropriated funds to keep this boondoggle alive,″ Zeldin said. 'Today, the Trump EPA is announcing that we are ending Solar for All for good, saving US taxpayers ANOTHER $7 BILLION!'
Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt, who introduced the Solar for All program to slash electric bills for working families, called Zeldin's action illegal.
'Solar for All means lower utility bills, many thousands of good-paying jobs and real action to address the existential threat of climate change,″ Sanders said in a statement. 'At a time when working families are getting crushed by skyrocketing energy costs and the planet is literally burning, sabotaging this program isn't just wrong — it's absolutely insane. We will fight back to preserve this enormously important program.'
The Trump administration has already targeted the 'green bank' funds, first freezing the grants, then terminating the agreements altogether. Zeldin called them 'a clear cut case of waste and abuse' and a 'gold bar' scheme earlier this year.
The EPA has argued that the tax and policy bill law repealed the green bank and allows the agency to rescind the money it has already obligated. The recipients of that money disagree. They say the bulk of the money had already been disbursed and isn't affected by the law.
Grant recipients have filed lawsuits challenging the administration's actions, and a judge ruled in April the EPA cannot freeze the contracts.
Rhode Island Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse, the top Democrat on the Senate Environment Committee, called Zeldin's elimination of the solar program a betrayal 'that will further hike electricity costs and make our power grid less reliable.'
'Trump is — yet again — putting his fossil fuel megadonors first,' he added.
___
St. John reported from Detroit.
___
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Los Angeles Times
12 minutes ago
- Los Angeles Times
Letters to the Editor: Enough harping on the Democrats. What about the ‘spineless' GOP?
To the editor: I am so tired of hearing people talk about the ailing, aimless Democratic Party ('Kamala Harris won't cure what ails the Democratic Party,' Aug. 5). What about the ailing, spineless Republican Party? Without its complete capitulation and fealty to President Trump, this country wouldn't be in the sorry state it's in. The Democrats are fighting back with everything they have at their disposal, but when a large portion of the country no longer believes in truth, science, the law or common decency, it's almost impossible for them to get their message out. The very people that Trump's policies are hurting the most don't even recognize it. What ails the Democrats is that they care about decency, the law, the common man, fairness and all of the things our country used to stand for. What do Republicans in power care about? Their wallets and, as far as I can tell, absolutely nothing else. Certainly not clean water and air, vaccines, science, legality, helping the less fortunate — the list goes on and on. Democrats are far from perfect, but how do members of the GOP sleep at night? Tracey Pomerance-Poirier, Chatsworth
New York Post
12 minutes ago
- New York Post
Trump backers finally reap rewards after years of debanking, black-listing
The business of MAGA is booming. There's crypto, and of course The Donald's signature country clubs and golf courses that people are willing to pay big bucks to get into. There's also a quieter but increasingly lucrative business of consulting corporate America on how best to deal with Trumpers who control the vast administrative state, On The Money has learned. Yes, knowing President Trump and the people he has appointed is a good thing these days, four years ago not so much. 3 Knowing President Trump and the people he has appointed is a good thing these days, four years ago not so much. Donald Pearsall/NY Post Design In fact, being associated with Trump for many people who served during his first term was for a time the employment version of catching leprosy, former Trump officials tell me. Their comments came following my scoop that JPMorgan and Bank of America 'debanked' Trump for his role in the January 6 Capitol Hill melee. It followed pressure from the Biden administration, people at the banks say, to steer clear of Trump and his family's business interests after he lost the 2020 presidential campaign. You can be like me and not condone the January 6 upheaval and still shudder at the thought that Trump's actions that day means he can't have a private business life, which is what the Biden administrative state working with the nation's two largest banks appeared to have tried to do, people at the banks confirm. But the blackballing apparently didn't stop at the banking business – it spanned across corporate America, sources told On The Money. It included major corporations throwing away the resumes of very capable people, being excommunicated from teaching posts at major universities. It meant being kicked off the speaking circuit, and no book deals, all for working for a time with Trump during his first term, former officials said. Here's how one former top Trump economic aide put it: 'The entire weight of government came out against Trump and people who worked for him including yours truly. It went beyond banking. People couldn't get hired. People couldn't get speaking gigs. It was really, really bad all fueled by the Biden administration.' 3 JPMorgan and Bank of America 'debanked' Trump for his role in the January 6 Capitol Hill melee. It followed pressure from the Biden administration, people at the banks say, to steer clear of Trump and his family's business interests after he lost the 2020 presidential campaign. AFP/Getty Images How it was communicated by the Biden people to big companies to blacklist Trump and his people isn't quite known. Big business, however, is highly regulated. You can see how having a former Trumper in a top role at a major corporation, or Trump's businesses holding accounts at JPMorgan or Bank of America, could bring scrutiny or worse. So why take the risk? Most major companies and banks didn't, my reporting shows. The people from Trump who did land not long after January 6 and Trump's first term ended did so in safe spaces for conservative voices, such as my employer, Fox News (which shares corporate ownership with The Post) and right-of-center think tanks. Of course, many Americans rebelled against Sleepy Joe's various economic policies – from high taxes to inflation-inducing overspending – coupled with high regulation, not to mention its embrace of woke culture. 3 Many Americans rebelled against Sleepy Joe's various economic policies – from high taxes to inflation-inducing overspending – coupled with high regulation. REUTERS Trump was re-elected president in 2024 and corporate America began to open up to former Trump acolytes, But until recently, when Trump actually got back into the White House for Round 2, their job prospects never matched what those who served in the Obama administration experienced. They immediately snapped up jobs on corporate boards, and landed plum assignments in public policy and public affairs the minute Barack left office. Gary Goldstein, CEO of Whitney Partners, an executive search firm, said part of the problem with being associated with Trump wasn't just his deeds during January 6, or even his election denialism after he lost to Biden in 2020. Charlie Gasparino has his finger on the pulse of where business, politics and finance meet Sign up to receive On The Money by Charlie Gasparino in your inbox every Thursday. Thanks for signing up! Enter your email address Please provide a valid email address. By clicking above you agree to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. Never miss a story. Check out more newsletters Rather, it stems from the fact that businesses hate controversy and before he was president, Trump was a polarizing figure in New York, known more for his brash persona and reality TV show, Goldstein tells Fox Business's Teuta Dedvukaj. 'Anyone who is in business and gets involved in politics is putting themselves in harm's way,' Goldstein said. 'It's better to be agnostic. Once you cross that line, especially with someone like Trump, you can't un-ring that bell.' Well, being elected president a second time has done a lot for un-ringing. JPM and BofA will now gladly take The Donald's money, and the banks are all hiring consultants and flacks to deal with MAGA 2.0. Finally it's getting profitable to be MAGA.
The Hill
12 minutes ago
- The Hill
Trump rips Duncan over switch to Democratic Party: ‘Total loser'
President Trump ripped former Georgia Lt. Gov. Geoff Duncan for joining the Democratic party and falling out of the GOP, calling him a 'total loser' for making the switch. In an early Friday post on Truth Social, Trump said that Duncan was no longer wanted in the GOP because all he did was complain. 'Failed former Lt. Governor Geoff Duncan, of Georgia, is a total loser. Was never able to get anything done, all he ever did was complain,' the president wrote. 'We didn't want him in the Republican Party any longer, so I'm told he became a Democrat.' He added, 'Good riddance Geoff. You don't even have a chance!!!' Duncan on Tuesday pushed an op-ed published by the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, saying the party switch has been coming for a while. The former lieutenant governor said his journey to becoming a Democrat began when Trump tried to 'steal' the 2020 presidential election, an effort the former lieutenant governor denounced at the time. He said that his time serving in elected office taught him the best way to 'love my neighbor' is through public policy. Duncan, in his essay, called out Trump's signature tax and spending bill, which he argued would leave Medicaid funding 'in shambles.' He also criticized the legislation's cuts to funding for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program and the impact it will have on preventing children from being hungry at school. Additionally, he slammed the Trump administration's immigration policies that he argues, 'have turned into a lesson on how not to love your neighbor.' Duncan endorsed former Vice President Harris's campaign in the 2024 presidential election and spoke at the Democratic National Convention in August. He was later expelled from the Georgia Republican Party.
