EPA Terminates Contracted IRA Solar Funds

EPA Pauses Nationwide Solar Program Funds

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced a temporary halt of the Solar for All program grants. The program funds, amounting to $7 billion, are designed to finance community and rooftop solar in low-income communities, contributing to climate pollution reduction and energy cost offset.

The EPA’s decision is in line with President Donald Trump’s January 20 executive order on “Unleashing American Energy.” The agency has been collaborating with the White House Office of Management and Budget (OMB) to pause “all funding actions related to” climate and infrastructure laws from the Biden era.

Impact on Recipients

Multiple recipients reported losing access to the Automated Standard Application for Payments (ASAP), an online grant management portal, on Wednesday morning. This came 12 hours after a federal judge temporarily blocked Trump’s expansive spending freeze. Many recipients lacked a point of contact for questions related to the spending pause and claimed their EPA program managers had cut off contact.

While the OMB has rescinded the spending freeze memo, the ASAP portal remained inaccessible by Wednesday afternoon. White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt confirmed that the spending freeze would continue despite the memo’s retraction.

The Justice Department declined to comment when referred to by the EPA.

Solar for All and its Funding

The Solar for All program is part of the Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund under the 2022 climate law. Of the three programs under the fund, only Solar for All still has funds at the U.S. Treasury. The other two programs, totaling $20 billion, were deposited at Citibank under a financial agent agreement with Treasury.

All solar grants are obligated, meaning the federal government cannot reclaim any of the contracted funds unless the recipients commit malfeasance, according to legal experts. Despite this, the four Solar for All recipients reported that they had not been able to access the portal to draw down the money.

Continued Fund Freeze

Zaelan Hoover, the Biden administration’s implementation lead for the Inflation Reduction Act and the infrastructure bill, indicated that about $50 billion in grants administered by the EPA under these laws remain frozen. Roman Castillo of grant management and administration firm CohnReznick, expressed concerns about the ongoing freeze, noting the potential disruption to the Solar for All program’s implementation.

The suspension of federal funds could potentially delay the deployment of solar power in underserved communities. Adam Kent from the Natural Resources Defense Council warned that withholding Solar for All funds is harmful to low-income communities, regardless of their political affiliation. “This is a local economic development program that’s going to touch all corners of our country and deliver energy savings and help communities become healthier and more resilient,” he said.