23 states sue epa after trump administration kills $7 billion solar program for low-income communities

New Jersey has joined a coalition of 22 other states and Washington, D.C., in filing a lawsuit against the Environmental Protection Agency over the agency’s decision to terminate the Solar for All program, a major clean energy initiative designed to help disadvantaged communities access solar power.

The $7 billion program, launched during the Biden administration, was designed to bring solar energy to approximately 900,000 households in low-income and disadvantaged communities nationwide. The initiative was projected to save participating families an estimated $350 million in energy costs while expanding access to clean, renewable energy in areas that have historically been underserved by green infrastructure programs.

However, the program became an early casualty of the Trump administration’s broader policy overhaul. As part of what the administration calls its “One Big Beautiful Bill,” the Solar for All program was eliminated entirely. EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin defended the decision, dismissing the initiative as a “boondoggle” and criticizing it as a “slush fund.”

The multi-state lawsuit, spearheaded by New Jersey Attorney General Matthew J. Platkin and his counterparts across the country, challenges the EPA’s authority to cancel the program and argues that the termination undermines federal commitments to environmental justice and clean energy access. The legal challenge represents a significant pushback from state governments seeking to protect renewable energy investments and ensure that low-income communities aren’t left behind in the transition to clean energy.