California Attorney General sues to reinstate Solar for All funds from US EPA

Kate Wolffe, The Sacramento Bee on Oct 16, 2025

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SACRAMENTO, Calif. — California Attorney General Rob Bonta and the state’s Public Utilities Commission have teamed up with other Democratic states to sue the federal Environmental Protection Agency over its cancellation of its Solar for All program.

The $7 billion Solar for All program was announced in 2023 as part of the Inflation Reduction Act and was designed to help state and local governments expand access to solar power in low-income and disadvantaged communities. Bonta said its abrupt cancellation, announced in August via an X post from EPA Admistrator Lee Zeldin, has stalled projects and violates the agency’s contractual obligations. The action by EPA follows several regulatory rollbacks this summer, including a suspension of pollution reporting rules and proposal to repeal a landmark finding that greenhouse gas emissions endanger public health.

In a video accompanying the X post, Zeldin said the Big Beautiful Bill, otherwise known as H.R. 1, negated the Solar for All Program because the legislation repealed the Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund.

“EPA no longer has the statutory authority to administer the program or the appropriated funds to keep this boondoggle alive,” the post read.

“That is actually dead wrong, not true,” Bonta said during a news conference Thursday. “The bill clearly states that only unobligated funds were rescinded. The Solar for All funds were already essentially fully legally obligated, following all of the required processes and procedures.”

EPA said Thursday it does not comment on pending legislation.

The coalition that is suing is using a different approach than in previous suits, filing first in the Court of Federal Claims on Wednesday, and in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Washington Thursday. Bonta said the approach was spurred by comments from the U.S. Supreme Court that suggested a “dual track” lawsuit would be best for recouping damages.

In his X post, Zeldin argued the Solar for All grants should be eliminated because they would be diluted by multiple “pass-through entities” taking cuts from the funds, and he said most projects were in the “early planning phase.”

Bonta said some projects were already underway in California and thousands of hours of work had been put in. The state was expecting to receive $250 million of grant money.

According to a news release, $200 million of that was supposed to go to the CPUC to build “community solar systems,” with the goal of lowering electricity bills for some lower-income families and tribal communities by 20% per month. Another $9 million was slated for clean energy workforce development training.

“The Trump administration may think that an X post is the end-all, be-all, but I’m here to tell them, the law still stands,” Bonta said.