Trump Order Cuts Nevada’s $156M Community Solar Funds Access
TL/DR –
Nevada and other states have been cut off from millions of dollars in community solar funding, despite those funds being legally obligated to the state. The Nevada Clean Energy Fund, a nonprofit bank created by state legislation, was awarded a $156 million grant in April by the Environmental Protection Agency to finance community solar projects that benefit low-income households under the Solar for All program. However, those funds are now frozen following President Donald Trump’s Jan. 20 executive order “Unleashing American Energy,” which called for the immediate halt of energy grants, loans and contracts funded through the Inflation Reduction Act and Bipartisan Infrastructure Act.
Nevada loses access to Community Solar Funding
Nevada, along with other states, has lost access to millions in community solar funding, despite the funds being legally obligated. The funds, now frozen, were meant for the Nevada Clean Energy Fund, a nonprofit bank legislated by the state.
In April, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) granted $156 million to the Nevada Clean Energy Fund to finance community solar projects benefiting low-income households under the Solar for All program.
The funding was cut following President Donald Trump’s Jan. 20 executive order, “Unleashing American Energy”. This order called for a halt on energy grants, loans, and contracts funded under the Inflation Reduction Act and Bipartisan Infrastructure Act.
According to a report by E&E News, states nationwide were cut from the entitled funding under the Solar for All program. The Nevada Clean Energy Fund was among those cut off from the EPA’s online grant management portal.
“The agency has paused all funding actions related to the Inflation Reduction Act and the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act,” said Michael Brogan, a press officer with U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Region 9 overseeing Nevada.
Without clear federal funding, the future of the program, which was expected to distribute funds to property owners and community solar hosts as early as February 2025, is now uncertain.
The Nevada Clean Energy Fund, created in 2017, was funded in anticipation of federal funds. In 2023, the Nevada Legislature allocated $1 million to the fund before applying for the EPA’s Solar for All grant.
The funds were expected to finance approximately 125 multifamily affordable housing and community solar projects across Nevada. This would have reduced energy costs by at least 20% for over 20,000 low-income households in Nevada by 2029. Moreover, the roof-top solar projects were expected to create nearly 1,000 jobs throughout Nevada.
Renewable energy advocates have called the move to freeze funds, already congressionally appropriated and legally obligated to the Nevada Clean Energy Fund, “illegal” and “unconstitutional”.
Chispa Nevada Program Director Audrey Peral called out the Trump administration for attacking low-income families. “Cutting this program is not only unconstitutional but immoral when electricity rates are at an all-time high and rising,” she said.
Chispa Nevada invested $130,000 in bilingual television and digital ads in December to promote the now underfunded Solar for All program.
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