Did we just lose $7 billion for solar?
Welcome to The Logoff: The Trump administration plans to claw back some $7 billion in grant funding for solar energy, its latest attack on renewable energy in the US.
What are the grants for? The money the administration is targeting is intended to help with solar panel installation for low- and middle-income households and has been awarded to 60 entities, including 49 state agencies, as part of the Solar for All program. The program is a legacy of the Inflation Reduction Act, the 2022 law that dedicated nearly $370 billion to clean energy, electric vehicle tax breaks, and more.
Can the administration do this? We're going to find out. While Congress successfully clawed back money from unobligated Solar for All grants in last month's recissions package, this funding has already been awarded. That makes terminating the grants less straightforward, and the move is likely to be challenged in lawsuits.
The New York Times reported that grant cancellation notices could be sent out as soon as this week.
How else is the administration going after clean energy? It's a long list. To name a few, the Environmental Protection Agency attempted to cancel an additional $20 billion in already-awarded climate grants earlier this year, only to be blocked by a federal judge, and Trump's reconciliation package cut clean energy subsidies and electric vehicle tax credits while adding new subsidies for coal power.
What's the big picture? This latest attack on solar power, and the administration's broader assault on renewables, is bad news for efforts to move away from fossil fuels and advance a more sustainable future. But the bigger picture is still optimistic. Renewable energy buildout around the world is still strong, and even in the US, there's a lot of inertia behind the ongoing transition. Clean energy expansion will continue — despite all of the antagonistic policies coming out of the Trump administration.
And with that, it's time to log off…
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