Solar nonprofits are taking the federal government to court over rescinded grants

A group of clean energy nonprofits is suing the federal government over the cancellation of Solar for All, a $7 billion EPA program that funded residential and community solar projects for low-income households. The nonprofits, including Growth Opportunity Partners, Inclusive Prosperity Capital, and the Center for Rural Affairs, argue the EPA illegally terminated their grant agreements after a law passed in July 2025 that was supposed to cut only unspent Solar for All money. They say most of the $7 billion had already been committed, making the terminations unlawful. The Center for Rural Affairs, for example, had a $62.45 million grant meant to fund solar for Nebraska households before the EPA cut off its access to the money in August 2025.

These cases add to a growing list of lawsuits over the program's cancellation. A separate suit in Rhode Island, backed by groups including the Hopi Tribal Council and Solar United Neighbors, argues the cutoff harms communities that rely on solar for reliable power, noting that nearly 35% of homes on the Hopi reservation currently lack electricity. Colorado and 22 other states have sued over the loss of nearly $150 million in funding, Virginia has filed its own breach-of-contract case, and Harris County, Texas is fighting to recover $249.7 million, a case that recently drew support from 84 members of Congress.

None of this changes anything immediately for individual homeowners, but it matters if your state or local Solar for All program was counting on this money to help lower-income households afford solar. Whether that funding comes back depends on how these court cases play out, so it's worth checking with your state energy office if you were expecting to benefit from one of these programs.