Attorney General Neronha, coalition challenge EPA attacks on affordable clean energy

Rhode Island at risk of losing more than $45M in grant funding

PROVIDENCE, R.I. – Attorney General Neronha will today join a coalition representing 22 states and the District of Columbia in suing the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin for illegally ending a $7 billion program that lowers energy costs and pollution by bringing solar energy to more than 900,000 households in low-income and disadvantaged communities across the country. This action follows a separate suit filed yesterday by the coalition in the U.S. Court of Federal Claims to recover damages for EPA’s unlawful breach of the grant agreements that were executed under this program.

“It’s clear, here and in our nearly 40 other lawsuits, that the federal government is working against, not for, the American people,” said Attorney General Neronha. “Through each of their unlawful actions, the President and his Administration have consistently demonstrated their intent to cause chaos and disruption. Here, once again, the Administration has unlawfully clawed back congressionally allocated funds from the states. These funds were already being put to good use, creating clean energy, jobs, and savings for Americans. As with Revolution Wind, this latest attack on clean energy would harm Rhode Islanders and Americans for generations to come, and we won’t sit by while it happens.”

The United States Congress created the Solar for All program in 2022 as part of the Inflation Reduction Act, directing EPA to make competitive grants to states and other entities to deploy solar projects in low-income and disadvantaged areas. EPA selected recipients and awarded all of the program funds to plaintiff states and other grant recipients by August 2024. Rhode Island and the other plaintiffs moved forward with planning projects and working with stakeholders to develop their solar programs.

But EPA abruptly and unlawfully terminated the program two months ago and clawed back the vast majority of the money already awarded, leaving the plaintiffs without access to the funds to proceed with their solar programs. In Rhode Island, the Office of Energy Resources (OER) applied for Solar for All funding and was awarded $49,330,000 in July 2024. Planning for this funding, OER proposed the launch and expansion of six financial-assistance programs and 12 project-deployment technical-assistance initiatives designed to equitably address barriers to solar adoption in Rhode Island’s low-income and disadvantaged communities.  Between the various programs OER intended to offer using the funding, the Office expected to serve approximately 5,225 low-income households, reducing their electrical bills by $48,477,353. Additionally, Solar for All would have directly resulted in 27.49 MW of energy and at least 100 new green jobs.

When President Trump took office in January, he prioritized fossil fuel extraction to address an alleged “energy emergency” while arbitrarily excluding solar power as a resource that can be tapped to meet the country’s energy needs. In July, Congress passed the president’s “One Big Beautiful Bill Act,” rescinding funds for the Solar for All program that were unobligated as of July 3. The effect of that move was small, given that EPA had obligated all of the $7 billion for the program nearly a year earlier.

But instead of following that newly passed law, EPA and Zeldin illegally terminated the program on August 7. On social media, Zeldin made baseless accusations, calling Solar for All a “boondoggle.” The agency then sent memos to all recipients, including the plaintiffs, saying EPA no longer has a “statutory basis or dedicated funding” for the program, even though Congress never directed EPA to cancel funds that had already been awarded. In fact, Congress did the opposite by only rescinding unobligated funds for Solar for All.

Attorney General Neronha and a multistate coalition are filing a lawsuit today in U.S. District Court for the Western District of Washington, alleging, among other things, that the EPA violated the Administrative Procedure Act and the U.S. Constitution’s Separation of Powers Doctrine in unlawfully canceling the program.

Attorney General Neronha will join the attorneys general of Arizona, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Hawai’i, Illinois, Massachusetts, Maine, Maryland, Michigan, Minnesota, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, Oregon, Vermont, Washington, and the District of Columbia in filing this lawsuit. Also joining the complaint are the governors of Kentucky and Pennsylvania, as well as the Wisconsin Economic Development Corporation.

Separately, Rhode Island joined a lawsuit that was filed yesterday in the U.S. Court of Federal Claims. In that complaint, the states and other entities argue the EPA breached the clear terms of the agreements and violated the duty of good faith and fair dealing in canceling their Solar for All grants. They are asking the court to award the plaintiffs money damages, interest, and fees.

Here, Attorney General Neronha joins the attorneys general in Arizona, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Hawai’i, Illinois, Massachusetts, Maine, Maryland, Michigan, Minnesota, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, Oregon, Vermont, Washington, and the District of Columbia. Also joining the complaint are the governors of Kentucky and Pennsylvania, as well as the Wisconsin Economic Development Corporation