The EPA just unfroze funding for $7 billion Solar for All grant program

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has unfrozen grant funding for its Solar for All program, designed to bring the benefits of solar to households in low-income and disadvantaged communities across the country. The funds being unfrozen is a bright spot in the flood of actions coming from the Trump White House as it tries to withhold funding earmarked for clean energy investments across the country. 

“EPA worked expeditiously to enable payment accounts for IIJA and IRA grant recipients, so funding is now accessible to all recipients,” the EPA told EnergySage in a statement Wednesday.

Originally funded through former President Joe Biden’s landmark 2022 climate legislation the  Inflation Reduction Act (IRA), the Solar for All program, one of three Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund (GGRF) programs, was part of the funding pause ordered by President Donald Trump’s executive order that put a freeze on federal funding, pausing grants, loans, and other federal aid. 

The Solar for All program was in the process of distributing $7 billion in funds to 60 grant recipients, including states, territories, tribal governments, municipalities, and nonprofits, when Trump issued his executive order on January 20. 

A memo from the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) released in late January confirmed federal financial assistance would be frozen as part of a White House-mandated review of Biden-era climate spending.

Following the funding freeze, grant awardees were no longer able to access the online portal that disburses the funds, causing chaos and putting financial strain on many clean energy organizations across the country. 

The EPA move comes at a time of climate policy uncertainty, as EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin, who was sworn in on January 29, recently announced plans to roll back climate regulations and federal clean energy investments such as the GGRF, designed to fund clean energy projects and reduce pollution. In a video message on X, Zeldin referred to GGRF funding as “reckless spending,” and accused the Biden administration of possible conflicts of interest and mishandling of funds by distributing grants without proper oversight. 

Zeldin’s and Trump’s efforts to dismantle climate action faced immediate blowback: In a letter to the EPA Administrator, U.S. Senate Democrats who sit on the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee accused Zeldin of unlawfully halting climate funds and fabricating claims of waste and fraud. And in early February, two federal judges in D.C. and Rhode Island issued orders temporarily blocking the White House from freezing the funds. 

EnergySage spoke to a nonprofit that confirmed they regained access to the portal, and are now able to access the Solar for All grant funding they received. 

It’s unclear if a funding freeze may be reinstated, but for now, the Solar for All funds are accessible again, and the federal website to submit for reimbursements has been reopened.