Trumps funding pause clouds future of Solar For All Program
Terry L. Jones Floodlight
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's $7 billion Solar For All Program faces an uncertain fate following last week's rollout of executive orders from President Donald Trump putting a freeze on federal financial assistance.
That news came a month after EPA officials from the previous administration told Floodlight that awards tied to the program had already been obligated to nonprofit groups and states and would start trickling down to low-income property owners at the beginning of this year.
But that's not how it's rolling out for Solar for All, which is designed to offer solar power to households in low-income and disadvantaged communities through grants and loans to help ease annual utility costs and meet climate goals.
Sean Gallagher, senior vice president of policy for the Solar Energy Industries Association, confirmed news reports that Solar for All grant recipients received notice from the federal Office of Management and Budget that funding was put on pause with no indication when or if they might receive it. One Solar for All grant recipient set to receive hundreds of millions of dollars confirmed the funding portal to request reimbursement was shut down.
Participants in the program — part of then-President Joe Biden's Inflation Reduction Act — are now scrambling to figure out how to access the money approved by Congress before Trump took office.
Officials with GRID Alternatives — a nonprofit awarded $357 million to add solar panels on homes in 29 states plus Native American households in five states — said the group received form emails announcing the pause of funding for Solar For All. The emails came from federal agencies but not the EPA, which administers the program, Wanda Heard, senior public relations and advocacy manager for GRID Alternatives, said in a prepared statement.
'We understand that all awardees' ability to draw funds has been 'suspended,' but direct communication has been limited,' Heard wrote.
Heard said her organization is worried about not being reimbursed by the EPA 'promptly' or 'at all,' making it hesitant to begin any solar projects.
One of Trump's executive orders, Unleashing American Energy, orders federal agencies to halt climate-related funding under the IRA and the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law — which Trump labels as the 'Green New Deal' — while officials analyze whether they conflict with the president's order to maximize U.S. fossil fuel development.
Last week, his administration released an Office of Management and Budget memo directing agencies to halt all 'financial assistance' from the federal government, except assistance to individuals.
Some states and nonprofits responded quickly by suing the Trump administration over the pause. And a federal district court judge issued an administrative stay the day after the freeze memo. OMB withdrew the memo, but the White House said the funding freeze would remain in place.
On Monday, U.S. District Judge Loren L. AliKhan extended her order as nonprofits argued the freeze is illegal and unconstitutional, and the halt in funding could force them to shut down while the case is being litigated.
A second judge in Rhode Island made a similar ruling in a separate case in which 22 attorney generals from Democratic states sued over the freeze. Both claim the administration is violating the Administrative Procedure Act.
It's unclear what that means for Solar for All, Gallagher said, adding, 'We are working to learn more about when or if disbursements will resume.'
Similar sentiments were shared by state leaders in New Mexico.
'The governor and her cabinet secretaries are thoroughly reviewing these orders and their implications for our state,' Michael Coleman, spokesperson for New Mexico Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham, said in an email. 'Our initial assessment indicates serious constitutional concerns that require immediate attention.'
In December, when Floodlight spoke to officials with New Mexico's Energy, Minerals and Natural Resources Department, they said Trump's previous threats to repeal IRA funds would likely lead to the state canceling their plans. At the time, they said they weren't 'overly concerned' that would happen.
New Mexico is set to receive $156 million to deploy rooftop solar systems on single-family homes and apartment buildings and help local utility companies integrate solar power into the state's electric grid.
'The governor understands that these developments may cause uncertainty and anxiety,' Coleman said. 'She wants New Mexicans to know that she is committed to advocating for them and protecting their interests.'
Legal experts argue grantees should ultimately win their battle to retain the federal funding that has been promised to them, citing court precedent set under Trump's first term.
Romany Webb, deputy director of the Sabin Center for Climate Change Law, and her colleague Amy Turner, director of the the center's Cities Climate Law Initiative, said in a blog that recipients of federal grants tied to the climate and infrastructure initiatives should move forward with fulfilling any federally mandated obligations for their respective programs and maintain comprehensive records to use in potential legal arguments.
'Federal agencies have contractually obligated about 84% of climate funding under the Inflation Reduction Act, which means they are required to disburse the funds as set out in the relevant agreements,' the pair wrote.
They referenced two 2018 decisions during Trump's first term when federal courts in the District of Columbia and Maryland struck down attempts to cancel grants appropriated by Congress based on Trump's desire to halt the spending.
Writing in the D.C. case, then-U.S. District Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson found that a 'federal agency that changes course abruptly without a well-reasoned explanation for its decision or that acts contrary to its own regulations is subject to having a federal court vacate its action as 'arbitrary (and) capricious.' ' Jackson is now a U.S. Supreme Court justice.
In both cases, the courts found those cancellations violated the Administrative Procedure Act — the same federal law at issue in the current litigation.
'There is still much uncertainty, and many potential challenges ahead,' Webb and Turner wrote. 'Perhaps the only sure thing is that the halting of federal financial assistance programs, even temporarily, will have significant implications for climate work at the national, state and community levels.'
Mario Alejandro Ariza contributed to this report. Floodlight is a nonprofit newsroom that investigates the powerful interests stalling climate action.
Hashtags

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles


New York Times
26 minutes ago
- New York Times
Is 4,700 federal troops a big deployment?
About 4,000 National Guard troops and 700 Marines have been sent to Los Angeles as of Tuesday morning, after President Trump bypassed California leaders who said federal forces were not needed to respond to mostly peaceful protests. Here's how the deployment compares to past military activations on domestic soil responding to social unrest. 2021: Attack on the Capitol In 2021, officials in Washington initially requested 340 National Guard members to help respond to planned protests on Jan. 5 and Jan. 6, according to the military. As the protests on Jan. 6 against the 2020 presidential election results deteriorated, with a violent mob attacking police officers and the Capitol, the mayor of Washington D.C., Muriel Bowser, requested assistance, and 1,100 D.C. National Guard members were sent. Later that night, the acting defense secretary at the time, Chris Miller, mobilized 6,200 more National Guard members from other states to ensure peace in the days leading up to former President Joseph R. Biden's inauguration. 2020: George Floyd Protests After protests sprung up around the United States in response to the police killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis, National Guard members were deployed to several states. As of June 3, 2020, the National Guard had deployed more than 18,000 members in 28 states to respond to civil unrest related to Mr. Floyd's murder at the request of the states' governors. Another 42,000 National Guard members were activated at the same time for the coronavirus pandemic response. Want all of The Times? Subscribe.


Bloomberg
32 minutes ago
- Bloomberg
Newsom Warns Trump May Use Soldiers on Immigration Raids
Gavin Newsom is warning that Donald Trump's use of troops where state and local officials don't want them is actually a test, one the Republican president may seek to replicate across other American towns and cities as part of his mass deportation effort. 'We're getting word that he's looking to operationalize that relationship and advance significantly larger-scale ICE operations in partnership and collaboration with the National Guard,' the Democratic governor said on the podcast Pod Save America. Such a move would likely be illegal for reasons similar to those Newsom has cited in litigation to stop Trump's use of the military in Los Angeles. Legal experts have said that, as with many of Trump's emergency declarations since he took office, there is no legal basis for the Republican's move to take control of the California National Guard. State and city officials have reported that protests against Trump and his immigration raids have been largely peaceful during the day with minor skirmishes at night, while limited to a few parts of a city that spreads over several hundred square miles. With no reported deaths and few injuries—some among journalists shot with plastic rounds by local police —protests have begun spreading across the country. Demonstrations have been held in New York City, San Francisco, Chicago, Texas and Washington. Meanwhile, Trump's federalization of 4,000 members of California National Guard and his ordering of 700 active duty Marines to Los Angeles will reportedly cost $134 million for 60 days.


Politico
36 minutes ago
- Politico
Trump's invasion of California marches on
Presented by Health Justice Action Fund ALL ANGLES: California leaders are bracing as Donald Trump's administration continues its multi-pronged attack on the state. The president is considering cutting federal education funds to California, which could cost the cash-strapped state billions of dollars, our Rebecca Carballo, Juan Perez Jr. and Eric He report today. The development comes as Gov. Gavin Newsom and Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass grapple with Trump's deployment of the National Guard and Marines to Southern California. The governor is awaiting a Thursday afternoon hearing on a request for a restraining order over the deployment of the National Guard and Marines. (The federal judge assigned to the case is the younger brother of retired Supreme Court Justice Stephen Breyer.) Trump claimed he called Newsom 'a day ago' and that Los Angeles 'would be burning' if not for the federal government's intervention. Newsom is fact-checking him in real time … 'There was no call. Not even a voicemail,' Newsom said in an X post responding to Trump's Oval Office comments. 'Americans should be alarmed that a President deploying Marines onto our streets doesn't even know who he's talking to.' Meanwhile, Bass today told reporters that she has 'no idea' what the 700 Marines sent to Los Angeles by U.S. Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth are for, and that coordination between the city and the federal government has not been strong. 'People have asked me, what are the Marines going to do when they get here? That's a good question.' she said. She said the National Guard's only assignment was to guard federal buildings. Bass said she plans to call the president later today to tell him to stop the raids that she says have the potential to 'devastate the economy of the city of Los Angeles.' 'Don't you want the World Cup to be a success, a success for you? Well, if that's what you want, give us help. Give us the $130 million that is being used for no reason,' Bass said, referencing what Hegseth said could be a 60-day effort from the federal government. The mayor said the Los Angeles Police Department has the situation under control and that assistance from the federal government is not needed. 'The violence that has happened has required LAPD to ask for additional assistance, but not from the federal government,' she said. Bass said there might be another rally today and that she would be attending an interfaith prayer service to call for peace. Norman reported from Los Angeles. IT'S TUESDAY AFTERNOON. This is California Playbook PM, a POLITICO newsletter that serves as an afternoon temperature check on California politics and a look at what our policy reporters are watching. Got tips or suggestions? Shoot an email to lholden@ WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW TODAY GETTING THE BOOT: State Sen. Caroline Menjivar — who has been vocal about her opposition to cutting Medi-Cal benefits for undocumented immigrants — will no longer serve on a legislative budget subcommittee, our Rachel Bluth reports for POLITICO Pro subscribers. Menjivar's removal from the panel by outgoing Senate President Pro Tem Mike McGuire comes after the Legislature released a budget proposal that includes some of the cuts to the insurance program that Newsom put forth in a plan to close a $12 billion budget hole. According to Menjivar, she was briefed about the Legislature's budget proposal over the weekend as her home district of Los Angeles was thrown into chaos over immigration raids and violent confrontations between protesters and police. With the subcommittee scheduled to vote on the cuts at a meeting Tuesday evening, she said she let McGuire know ahead of time that she planned to vote against them. Then, Monday evening, Menjivar's chief of staff got a call from McGuire's office with word that she was being removed from her post. Menjivar said she tried to get an explanation from McGuire but her calls to him went unanswered. 'I'm disappointed,' Menjivar said. 'I really wish I could have recorded my concerns.' IN OTHER NEWS TRAFFICKING DEBATE CONTINUES: The Assembly's embattled sex trafficking bill advanced from the Senate Public Safety Committee today, even as some members called for major changes as it moves through the second house. The legislation from Assembly Public Safety Chair Nick Schultz would increase penalties for people soliciting sex from 16- and 17-year-olds and would criminalize loitering with the intent to buy sex. State Sen. Scott Wiener had strong words about the second provision, which undoes part of a bill he authored three years ago that decriminalized loitering with the intent to commit prostitution. He and others who oppose that element of the bill say it could be used to target people of color and the LGBTQ+ community. Wiener voted to move the bill forward, but he said the loitering element 'needs to come out before it comes to the floor.' 'I've already spent years repealing the loitering law,' Wiener said. 'I'm not going to be introducing the bill and having to go through that again and have all the death threats and calling me a pedophile.' Assemblymember Maggy Krell — who originally authored the legislation — plunged her house into chaos by working with Republicans to restore the stronger sentences for soliciting older teens after Democrats removed the provision. Assembly Speaker Robert Rivas then stripped the bill from Krell and gave it to Schultz, who committed to continuing discussions about the legislation as it heads to the Senate Appropriations Committee. POSTING THROUGH IT: As tensions between Trump and California have escalated, so has the intensity and, to some eyes, cringiness, of the governor's social media presence. Newsom's team this morning posted a Taylor Swift-themed Instagram reel showing Trump's Truth Social posts and photos of Newsom and the president to the soundtrack of 'You Need to Calm Down.' A Star Wars-style X post from the governor's press office account features another Truth Social post being read by a villainous-sounding voice with movie images in the background. (This newsletter writer must admit her colleagues had to tell her the voice is supposed to belong to Emperor Palpatine.) WHAT WE'RE READING TODAY — National Guard units blocked roadways near the Ronald Reagan Federal Building and Courthouse in Santa Ana on Tuesday after the city's downtown saw clashes between protesters and law enforcement. (Orange County Register) — San Francisco Mayor Daniel Lurie is treading lightly over Los Angeles's clash with the Trump administration, saying his priority is 'keeping San Franciscans safe.' (San Francisco Chronicle) AROUND THE STATE — The San Diego city council approved a $43.60 monthly fee for trash collection at single-family homes. (San Diego Union Tribune) — Sacramento Police Chief Kathy Lester said that she did not violate policy when she flew first-class to ten conferences in a one year period because she reimbursed the city for the difference between a coach and first-class ticket. (Sacramento Bee) — compiled by Nicole Norman