President Donald Trump's budget request, released on May 2, 2025, proposes slashing $21 billion in unspent funds from the 2021 bipartisan infrastructure law for renewable energy, electric vehicle charging infrastructure and other efforts to cut climate-warming carbon dioxide emissions. Shown are solar panels and wind turbines. (Photo by Marga Buschbell-Steeger/Getty Images)
Democrats in North Carolina’s congressional delegation criticized the Environmental Protection Agency’s decision on Thursday to cut a grant program that would take away more than $156 million from solar projects in the state.
Solar for All, a Biden-era initiative, awarded $7 billion in grants nationally to 60 recipients including states, tribes, and regions. The funds contributed to solar projects like rooftop solar and community solar gardens for more than 900,000 lower-income households.
It’s part of the Trump administration’s push away from cleaner energy, following additional cuts in the “One Big Beautiful Bill.”
Democratic Reps. Don Davis (NC-01), Deborah Ross (NC-02), Valerie Foushee (NC-04), and Alma Adams (NC-12) wrote a letter to EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin asking him to reconsider and ultimately reverse the termination.
“At a time when energy costs and demand are both rapidly increasing, it is concerning that your agency is considering an action that may violate federal law — Congress has already appropriated the funding — and would increase household energy costs for millions of Americans while jeopardizing thousands of jobs across a wide cross section of states,” the members wrote.
The four representatives also wrote that the North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality and its coalition partners — the NC Clean Energy Fund, the NC Clean Energy Technology Center, and Advanced Energy — have an award agreement with the EPA to assist with designing and implementing the state’s Solar for All program.
Zeldin posted a video online denouncing the program and saying the cuts would benefit American taxpayers.
“EPA no longer has the authority to administer the program or the appropriated funds to keep this boondoggle alive,” he said.
A federal judge ruled in April that the EPA cannot freeze contracts awarded to nonprofits under the Biden administration, States Newsroom previously reported.
That decision could set an example for potential lawsuits due to stare decisis — the legal principle of following precedent in court.
Michelle “Meech” Carter, clean energy campaigns director at the North Carolina League of Conservation Voters, said the program supported at least 12,000 North Carolina households through solar installations and enabled upgrades like repairs and replacements.
In the aftermath of Hurricane Helene, some individuals and households in western North Carolina were without power for days, weeks, and even months.
“Folks in the west desperately need to be more independent with their energy sources,” Carter said. “Installing solar on our most vulnerable homes is what’s going to help us achieve energy independence and support our communities that were affected by disasters.”
Carter described the termination as a “consistent removal of any backstops” for people trying to lower their energy bills or protect themselves from disasters.
David Neal, senior attorney at the Southern Environmental Law Center, said the program created jobs and lowered residential power bills for families.
“It’s making North Carolina more resilient as it recovers from Hurricane Helene, which emphasized the importance for families to have the choice to power their own homes,” Neal wrote in a statement. “The entire state has a lot to lose if Solar for All is stripped away.”
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