Trump Administration Weighs Scrapping $7 Billion Solar Grant Program

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency may soon cancel a $7 billion solar energy grant program aimed at helping low- and moderate-income households, according to sources familiar with the matter. The program, “Solar for All,” funded by President Biden’s 2022 Inflation Reduction Act, awarded grants to 60 nonprofits, tribes, and states to expand rooftop and community solar access.

While no final decision has been made, the potential move signals a major policy reversal under President Donald Trump, whose administration has criticized solar and wind energy as costly and unreliable.

The EPA said it is reviewing the grants to ensure alignment with the recently passed “One Big Beautiful Bill,” reflecting Trump’s legislative priorities. Grantees, including the Bonneville Environmental Foundation, which received $130 million, warn that cutting the program would harm rural and frontline communities.

“Solar for All delivers critical benefits and boosts local energy independence,” said Hilary Shohoney of the Foundation.

The news has sparked concerns across the clean energy sector, as the cancellation would halt efforts to reduce energy costs, create rural jobs, and advance climate goals. The fate of the grants remains uncertain as the EPA finalizes its review.

Potential cancellation of the $7 billion Solar for All programme would remove one of the largest single federal channels for expanding low-income community solar access. The 60 grantees - nonprofits, tribes, states - had built implementation plans and community partnerships around the funding, and cancellation creates cash-flow and delivery-timeline exposure that state and philanthropic funding cannot fully backfill.

The environmental-justice dimension is significant. Low- and moderate-income households disproportionately face high energy-cost burden; expanded solar access can materially reduce that burden while also delivering emissions reductions. Cancellation removes both benefits simultaneously, with the impact concentrated in specific rural and frontline communities.

For solar developers, community-focused implementation partners and financial institutions supporting equity-focused clean-energy investment, Cognitud's market intelligence, responsible investment and CSR teams help clients evaluate alternative-funding strategies, structure state and philanthropic partnership arrangements, and prepare disclosures aligned with environmental-justice, SDG 7 and jurisdictional community-impact frameworks that support programme continuity under changing federal policy conditions.