EPA plans to end a program that makes solar power available to low-income Americans

The Trump Administration says it will end a $7 billion program to help low-income households and communities get access to affordable solar energy. The move is part of President Trump's effort to reverse former President Biden's climate agenda and boost fossil fuels instead.

The "Solar for All" program had aimed to help more than 900,000 low-income households reduce pollution, and utility bills. Solar for All funded efforts around the country to provide rooftop solar panels, community solar farms, and battery storage.

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A key element of the Solar for All program is helping low-income households.

Having solar "means that people can essentially have more money to pay for other essential needs, such as food and healthcare. Both of which are rising in price simultaneously," says Sanya Carley, professor of energy policy at the University of Pennsylvania.

 "By removing this program, a program that was designed specifically to help low and moderate income households, it essentially means that these households won't be able to benefit from these reduced bills," Carley says.

A year ago the EPA awarded Colorado's Solar for All program $156 million. The governor's office said that would expand access to solar power to more than 20,000 Coloradans.

"The Trump Administration is seeking to rip cost-saving solutions out of the hands of hardworking Coloradans and push us backwards into an over reliance on non-renewable resources," Democratic Gov. Jared Polis said in a statement.

The EPA under Biden had estimated that the program would produce over $350 million in annual savings on electric bills for low-income households across the country. Also, rooftop and community solar can help households avoid power shutoffs, which are dangerous in extreme heat and cold.

The Solar for All program, and the solar projects across the country, would have meant significant greenhouse gas reductions, says Costa Samaras, director of the Scott Institute for Energy Innovation at Carnegie Mellon University. "We need all the clean power we can get right now," he says. 

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