Scholten leads Michigan Dems calling on Trump administration to restore solar energy funding

BY KYLE DAVIDSON, MICHIGAN ADVANCE

MICHIGAN—Following the Environmental Protection Agency’s decision to cancel funding for the federal Solar For All program, US Rep. Hillary Scholten (D-Grand Rapids) and her fellow Democratic House representatives are calling on EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin to reinstate more than $7 billion in terminated grants.

The Solar For All program was established under former President Joe Biden through funding in the Inflation Reduction Act. The effort was intended to help lower energy bills for low-income households by providing them with access to solar energy.

While Michigan was obligated $156 million for its own solar for all program, the One Big Beautiful Bill Act eliminated the federal Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund, which included Solar For All funding. Zeldin later announced the end of the program in a social media post, saying the agency no longer had the statutory authority to administer the program, nor the funds to keep it alive.

In the letter to Zeldin, Scholten, alongside Reps. Debbie Dingell (D-Ann Arbor), Kristen McDonald Rivet (D-Bay City), Haley Stevens (D-Birmingham), Rashida Tlaib (D-Detroit) and Shri Thanedar (D-Detroit) noted the program’s intent in lowering energy costs for families burdened by energy costs and its support for jobs in renewable energy.

“The Solar for All program is nowhere more important than in Michigan, where average residential electricity rates are among the highest in the Midwest and the nation.…With this federal investment, Michigan sought to reduce costs for an estimated 16,300 low-income households, providing an average benefit equivalent to a 20% reduction on residential electric bills, or around $400 per family per year,” the representatives wrote.

Without this funding, Michiganders could be saddled with increased energy costs and stifled economic development, they warned.

“The urgency and need for savings from Solar for All projects are clear. We stand ready to work with the EPA and the Trump Administration to reverse these terminations and ensure that Michiganders can benefit from lower utility costs, continued economic development, and heightened energy resilience,” the representatives wrote.

Michigan had already announced $13.9 million in awards to 13 pilot projects across the state, including projects in Berrien, Chippewa, Delta, Kent, Oakland, Ottawa, Washtenaw, Wayne and Wexford counties. The future of those projects remains uncertain, though Phil Roos, director of the Michigan Department of  Environment Great Lakes and Energy, said the department is  working with Attorney General Dana Nessel to determine the next steps.

EGLE’s Director of Communications, Dale George, told the Michigan Advance in an email Thursday that the department had notified staff and contractor groups to stop work on issuing awards and asked awardees to cease work on drafting grant agreements as EGLE consults with the attorney general.

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This coverage was republished from Michigan Advance pursuant to a Creative Commons license.