It was supposed to be a great equalizer: a federal program that would put solar panels on 900,000 rooftops in low-income and disadvantaged communities around the country, ensuring that everyone could be part of the clean energy transition.
But now, just weeks into the Trump administration, the $7 billion Solar for All program — an effort run by the Environmental Protection Agency — is effectively on hold, as awardees who have received federal grants find themselves locked out of an online platform to access the funds.
It is, by all accounts, a chaotic situation. Through executive orders and a separate memo, President Trump has attempted to halt funding for a host of federal grants and loans, including for clean energy to combat climate change. But last week, two judges temporarily blocked those attempts in response to lawsuits brought by a nonprofit coalition and a group of states, including Massachusetts. The judges ordered the funding to be resumed.
In theory, that means the spigot should be open again. Except, according to solar advocates, legal experts, and awardees, as of Monday, the Solar for All funds remained inaccessible. In Massachusetts, that means some $156 million that would benefit an estimated 31,000 households is on ice.
On Monday, a federal judge in Washington again ordered federal funds to be released, stating the Trump administration is acting as though any continued freeze is a “random coincidence,” which the judge said ignores “both logic and fact.”
Experts say the Trump administration appears to be so dead-set on obliterating progress on clean energy that it is willing to defy court orders to do so — even if that could lead to additional lawsuits.
“There is definitely a question as to whether they have the legal authority to do this,” said Rob Bradner, an attorney who specializes in federal policy and funding and who is a partner at Holland & Knight.
It’s not just Solar for All that’s at risk.
Massachusetts and New England were awarded more than $1 billion by the Biden administration to build a more resilient energy grid, lower energy costs, and create thousands of jobs, according to Maria Hardiman, spokeswoman for the state Executive Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs. “We secured these funds through agreements with federal agencies, and those agreements should be honored by the new administration,” Hardiman said.
Solar energy plays a critical role in helping the state reach its climate goals to lower greenhouse gas emissions that come from burning fossil fuels. Other large-scale renewable energy projects — including offshore wind, or interstate transmission lines to bring hydroelectric energy from Canada — take years to complete, require federal permits, and are ripe for lawsuits, all of which can lead to delays. But the ongoing spread of solar energy, rooftop by rooftop, has helped chip away at the state’s reliance on fossil fuels.
This summer, when a heat wave led to extreme energy demand, solar panels helped keep the power grid humming, meeting as much as one-fifth of electricity demand during the sunniest, hottest times.
What’s more, solar energy can help low-income households reduce their electricity bills, important in Massachusetts, where rates are particularly high. The power enabled by the Solar for All grant is anticipated to lower energy bills by 20 percent for thousands of Massachusetts households.
The state is partnering with Boston Housing Authority and MassHousing on the grant; the locations for the first projects have not yet been announced.
In response to detailed questions about the status of the program and the legal basis for a continued pause on its funds, an EPA spokesperson responded, “EPA is working to diligently implement President Trump’s executive orders as well as subsequent associated implementation memos.” The spokesperson directed additional questions to the Department of Justice, which declined to comment.
It’s a thorny legal situation. Like other federal programs, money for Solar for All was already been obligated to recipients.
These types of so-called “environmental justice” programs, targeting communities that are low-income or where little to no English are spoken, are uniquely vulnerable under Trump because of the administration’s stances opposing both climate action and anything related to diversity and inclusion.
Up until the pause, any awardee could log into a federal online portal to file for reimbursement. Now, they’re locked out.
“These grantees built out plans and strategies operating under the fair assumption that they would receive funds legally allocated to them, but they have now been deprived of the certainty they need to move forward,” said Sean Gallagher, senior vice president of policy for the Solar Energy Industries Association.
Massachusetts had already won the Solar for All award, negotiated a contract, produced a work plan, and had the work plan approved, according to Greg King, a community solar developer who had been providing feedback on Massachusetts’ plans. A team at the Massachusetts Clean Energy Center was created and charged with fine-tuning the details, he said.
Other New England states are in the same boat. Rhode Island has not received any of the $49.3 million it was awarded. Vermont can’t access the $62.5 million it won, either, according to Melissa Bailey, director of Vermont’s state energy office.
In Connecticut, which received a $62.5 million award, state officials said they are moving ahead with the Solar for All program, despite the uncertainty.
Since learning of its $62 million award, the Maine Governor’s Energy Office has been carrying out work, including recent hiring two full-time staff. So far, the state has received just $26,000 of its federal grant. Now, it’s waiting on guidance from the EPA about what will happen next.
It’s anybody’s guess.
“Just because the states might have a legal right to those dollars under the terms of the contract, that doesn’t mean that it automatically happens unless there is a willing participant in the federal government to release those funds,” said Jeremy McDiarmid, general counsel at the clean trade group Advanced Energy United.
On the other hand, suing to get those funds, McDiarmid said, ”is a very, very costly, slow, and high transaction cost way to do business.”
At the same time, business leaders worry the pause on funding will introduce new uncertainty to the solar industry, just as it’s taking off in the region. An organization or company considering going into business with the federal government might ask, “Is it worth the risk?,” said Joseph Curtatone, president of the Alliance for Climate Transition.
“This step is going to hurt working families, this will hurt our economy, and it will certainly undercut our credibility, which you can’t gain back overnight,” he said.
It also sends the country’s solar industry back to “business as usual,” in which the benefits of solar power — lower energy bills and reduced greenhouse gas emissions — are inaccessible to low-income and disadvantaged communities, according to King, the Massachusetts community solar developer.
“Honestly, with Solar for All, we thought we now had a perfect environment for solar development,” King said. “Now, the Solar for All program is a huge question mark.”
Sabrina Shankman can be reached at sabrina.shankman@globe.com. Erin Douglas can be reached at erin.douglas@globe.com. Follow her @erinmdouglas23.