EPA Cuts $125M Small-Scale Solar Project Program in Alaska
TL/DR –
The Trump administration has terminated the Biden-era Solar for All program which was intended to fund solar power projects across the US, including $125 million for projects in Alaska. This decision is facing opposition from U.S. Sen. Lisa Murkowski’s office and potential legal action from the Southern Environmental Law Center. The termination of these grants is predicted to raise utility costs in Alaska which already suffers from some of the highest energy prices in the country.
Alaska’s Solar Energy Projects Hit by Program Cancellation
The Trump Administration has axed a solar power program that was earmarked to infuse $125 million into Alaska’s urban and rural communities. The move, announced earlier this month, involves the termination of the Solar for All program and the retraction of grants that were to be funded by the One Big Beautiful Bill Act.
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency broke the news of the program’s end, a development that has been met with resistance from U.S. Sen. Lisa Murkowski’s office and the Southern Environmental Law Center, both of whom believe it breaks the spirit of the bill’s language.
Effects on Solar Power Development in Alaska
The Solar for All program, a byproduct of the 2022 Inflation Reduction Act, was created with the intent of fostering solar projects throughout the country. The EPA indicated it aimed to reduce energy costs, create jobs in disadvantaged communities, and mitigate climate change.
Both the Alaska Energy Authority and the Tanana Chiefs Conference were beneficiaries of $62.5 million grants through the program, intended to bring solar power to thousands of Alaskan homes and communities. Curtis Thayer, executive director of the energy authority, mentioned that the termination would be a setback for efforts to decrease the use of expensive diesel fuel in rural Alaska.
“I think it is a missed opportunity because we need to displace fuel oil in rural Alaska,” Thayer said, “whether that be (with) wind, solar, hydro, or even small nuclear. If we can just somehow offset the high cost of energy in rural Alaska, then we need to try to do that.”
Disagreement from Murkowski’s Office
Despite the EPA clarifying that it was canceling the obligated grant, citing the One Big Beautiful Bill Act as its guiding legislation, the move has met resistance. Joe Plesha, a spokesperson for Murkowski, expressed disagreement with the agency.
“We disagree with the EPA’s termination of all obligated funding under the Solar For All program,” Plesha said. “The reconciliation bill explicitly rescinded unobligated balances, and we had assurances from the agency through the morning of the announcement that no Alaska recipients would be harmed.”
The Impact on Communities
The cancellation of the Solar for All program is expected to have far-reaching consequences in rural Alaska communities. The Alaska Energy Authority planned to use around half of its $62.5 million grant to fund community projects in a few villages.
In addition, the Tanana Chiefs Conference intended to use its share of the grant to create tribally led solar projects in communities. The termination of the Solar for All program is expected to raise utility costs in Alaska, where energy prices are among the highest in the U.S.
The halting of solar and wind projects in Alaska will hurt energy diversification efforts and leave a dangerous gap as Alaska faces a worsening natural gas shortfall. The full impact of this decision remains to be seen.
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