Oregon joins legal fights for millions in community solar funds

The Trump administration is facing a lawsuit from Oregon Attorney General Dan Rayfield and 23 other states over the termination of $7 billion in funding for solar energy. This funding was intended to lower pollution levels and cut electricity bills for low-income households throughout the United States.

An action was filed on Thursday in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Washington, accusing the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and its administrator, Lee Zeldin, of unlawfully terminating the Solar for All program. The lawsuit argues that the funding had already been allocated by the agency in July 2024 under a legally binding agreement, and the states had already begun the process of developing and launching their projects.

Oregon stood to receive $86.6 million from the funding, which was to help approximately 3,500 households. This includes individuals residing in rural areas, those dealing with high energy bills, and tribes who typically struggle to afford solar panels.

The funding would have covered the cost of rooftop solar installations for single-family homes with minimal to zero upfront costs for the households. Additionally, it would have provided point-of-sale rebates for solar installations on low-income apartment complexes. The money would have also been used to develop 19 battery storage projects to reduce energy costs for low-income households and to fund a program to create solar jobs and provide job training.

Alongside the lawsuit, Oregon and the 23 other grant recipients are seeking to recover damages from the EPA’s breach of the grant agreements through a second legal challenge. This was filed on Wednesday in the U.S. Court of Federal Claims.

This legal action is in addition to an administrative challenge Oregon initiated in early September with the EPA.

The Solar for All program was launched under President Joe Biden’s Inflation Reduction Act, which was passed by Congress. The act’s goal is to increase access to solar energy, lower greenhouse gas emissions, and create jobs in the renewable energy sector.

The EPA, however, stated that Trump’s Big Beautiful Bill rescinded the authority and the allocated money to operate the Solar for All program. The agency has not explained why it chose to cancel funding that had already been awarded. On social media, Zeldin referred to Solar for All as a “green slush fund” and “a boondoggle.”

In addition to the states, a collection of businesses and nonprofits also filed a lawsuit against the Trump administration this month over the program’s cancellation.