Federal Judge Blocks EPA’s Move to Shut Down $7 Billion Solar for All Programme

A federal judge appointed by Donald Trump has sided against his own administration, halting the Environmental Protection Agency’s attempt to terminate Solar for All — a $7 billion initiative providing zero-emission energy technologies to low-income households.

Judge Mary McElroy ruled that the EPA had no authority to cancel grants Congress had already formally committed. The agency suspended the funding after new legislation passed in July 2025, publicly branding the programme as wasteful. Court documents cited by Utility Dive show the grants had been formally allocated by September 2024.

“The clear intent of Congress was for the EPA to continue administering the already-allocated grants,” McElroy wrote, finding that the defendants had acted contrary to that intent and without legal authority when they shut the programme down.

Solar for All was part of a broader fund created to speed the energy transition and extend access to zero-emission technologies among lower-income communities. McElroy concluded that subsequent legislation did not convert those funds into discretionary resources the agency could freeze or redirect at will.

The case was brought by a coalition including the Conservation Law Foundation and the Southern Environmental Law Center. Plaintiffs said the decision came after more than a year during which vulnerable families faced elevated electricity costs while the support set aside for them remained blocked. The EPA did not respond to a request for comment.

Source: Utility Dive