A federal judge in Rhode Island has reversed the Trump administration's shutdown of a $7 billion solar program, putting a major clean-energy effort for lower-income households back in play.
If the decision stands, assistance meant to bring solar power to more than 900,000 lower-income Americans could move forward again.
Here's what to know
After the Environmental Protection Agency canceled Solar for All in August 2025, District Judge Mary McElroy found that the agency had ended the program unlawfully. As OPB reported, Solar for All was designed to expand access to solar power for lower-income Americans, and McElroy set aside the EPA's termination.
McElroy said Congress expected the EPA to keep administering grants already obligated. In her view, the agency went against that intent and found no separate legal authority to end the program.
The EPA said it is reviewing the decision and weighing whether to appeal.
Among the plaintiffs were the Rhode Island AFL-CIO, the Rhode Island Center for Justice, and Solar United Neighbors. Patrick Crowley, president of the Rhode Island AFL-CIO, said the decision was "a big victory" for states across the country.
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More background
Solar for All was part of the $27 billion "green bank," formerly called the Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund, a climate-focused financing effort created under the 2022 law passed during former President Joe Biden's administration.
After President Donald Trump's tax-and-spending law passed in July 2025, EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin derided the grant program as a "boondoggle."
The dispute comes as solar power plays a growing role in the U.S. electricity system. In May, solar produced more electricity nationwide than coal for the first time.
For communities often left out of major infrastructure investment, programs like Solar for All are intended to deliver lower monthly utility bills, cleaner air, and energy upgrades.
What's being done?
Attorneys general in more than a dozen states sued over the canceled solar funding. A federal judge in Washington dismissed the case in June for lack of jurisdiction, and the plaintiffs appealed.
Legal challenges are also moving ahead over the broader Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund. In a separate case, a divided federal appeals court found that the Trump administration had wrongly ended the fund, handing a victory to nonprofits selected to run the effort.
Crowley said that "if and when the program does get up and running, there will be thousands and thousands of union jobs created across the United States."
Alex St. Pierre of Conservation Law Foundation, who is the group's vice president for environmental justice, put it: "Communities have waited long enough. Nearly every family is looking for ways to cut their energy bill. These dollars should go where Congress intended: toward lower energy bills, less climate pollution, good jobs and cleaner air."
Where can I learn more?
For more information on the fight over affordable solar access, these stories follow the legal and policy battles around Solar for All and beyond. They cover the lawsuits, state efforts to protect low-income incentives, and other barriers facing solar expansion.
• Plaintiffs pressed the EPA to restore $7 billion in solar incentives for 900,000 households.
• Oregon officials formally challenged the EPA to restore incentives for low-income homeowners.
• Virginia lawmakers made an affordable solar program more accessible in the Appalachian region.
• In California, new rules put a brick wall in front of home solar.
• In Maine, developers warned new legislation could bankrupt solar businesses and chill investment.
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