WA co-leads challenge to EPA’s attacks on affordable clean energy for low-income households

Washington and 22 other plaintiffs are 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.

Washington and 23 other grant recipients also filed suit yesterday 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.

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. Washington 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. That has left Washington and the other plaintiffs without access to the funds to proceed with their solar programs. In Washington, for example, EPA’s illegal move jeopardizes $156 million for qualifying solar projects in the state. The Washington State Department of Commerce invested more than 5,000 employee hours in developing Solar for All programming and was hoping to launch its programming in late 2025 or early 2026. Now, the Department of Commerce has no path forward.

“The administration is again targeting people struggling to get by in America, this time by gutting programs that help low-income households afford electricity,” Washington State Attorney General Nick Brown said. “Congress passed a solar energy program to help make electricity costs more affordable, but the administration is ignoring the law and focused on the conspiracy theory that climate change is a hoax.”

When President Trump took office this past 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.

Washington 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.

Brown and the attorneys general of Arizona and Minnesota are leading the complaint, which was joined by the attorneys general of California, Colorado, Connecticut, the District of Columbia, Hawaiʻi, Illinois, Massachusetts, Maine, Maryland, Michigan, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, Oregon, Rhode Island, and Vermont. Also joining the complaint are the governors of Kentucky and Pennsylvania, as well as the Wisconsin Economic Development Corporation.

Separately, Washington 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’re asking the court to award the plaintiffs money damages, interest, and fees.

The attorneys general of Maryland and Arizona are leading the complaint, which was also joined by the attorneys general in California, Colorado, Connecticut, Hawaiʻi, Illinois, Massachusetts, Maine, Michigan, Minnesota, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont, and the District of Columbia. Also joining the complaint are the governors of Kentucky and Pennsylvania, as well as the Wisconsin Economic Development Corporation.

Copies of the complaints will be posted as soon as they are available.

-30-

Washington’s Attorney General serves the people and the State of Washington. As the state’s largest law firm, the Attorney General’s Office provides legal representation to every state agency, board, and commission in Washington. Additionally, the Office serves the people directly by enforcing consumer protection, civil rights, and environmental protection laws. The Office also prosecutes elder abuse, Medicaid fraud, and handles sexually violent predator cases in 38 of Washington’s 39 counties. Visit www.atg.wa.gov to learn more.

Media Contact:

Email: press@atg.wa.gov

Phone: (360) 753-2727

General contacts: Click here

Media Resource Guide & Attorney General’s Office FAQ