This story was reported and written by our media partner the Virginia Mercury.
Virginia Attorney General Jay Jones has joined 23 other attorneys general in suing the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency over clawing back $7 billion the federal government had allocated to states for the Solar for All program.
“Investing in clean energy programs is essential to lowering energy costs and protecting our communities from the worsening effects of climate change,” Attorney General Jones said in a statement Tuesday. “The Trump Administration’s illegal cancellation of these funds will only further drive-up costs and jeopardize programs that will ensure Virginians have access to clean air, land and water.”
The Solar for All grant program helped moderate and low-income homeowners install solar panels onto their rooftops to help offset utility costs by generating a small amount of their own power. Virginia had been awarded $156 million, which equated to about 15,000 homes.
But the program, which was started under the administration of former President Joe Biden, was reversed under the One Big Beautiful Bill Act that President Donald Trump signed into law last summer. It was one of several renewable energy policies the administration has rolled back within the first year of Trump’s second term.
Virginia had spent only about $730,000 of the funds to prepare to roll out the program but had not begun offering the grants to residents.
“The bottom line again is this: EPA no longer has the authority to administer the program or the appropriated funds to keep this boondoggle alive,” EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin said over the summer following the signing of the bill.
Jones’ office said that about half of Virginia homes would have qualified for the program and could have seen a 20-50% savings on their monthly bills.
