Solar for All restart could save households $458 million in year one

The $7 billion initiative, funded through the Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund established by the Inflation Reduction Act, was halted by the Trump administration’s Environmental Protection Agency in August 2025. The courts ruled on September 18 and September 22 that the termination violated the Administrative Procedure Act. The rulings came from US District Judge Mary McElroy in Rhode Island and US District Judge Tanya Sue Chutkan in Washington, DC.

EPN estimates that households reached by the program would save about $456 each in the first year. Its brief, Restore Solar for All: EPA Could Help a Million Families Cut Their Electric Bills by 25%, also identifies projected benefits by state and for more than 74,000 tribal households. Executive director Michelle Roos urged the EPA to restart the grants rather than appeal, saying families were cutting grocery spending to cover electricity costs.

The report warns that a restart delayed beyond December 31, 2027, could leave about 410,000 households without nearly $500 in annual savings each. After that date, the commercial solar tax credit would no longer be available for systems not yet operating. Without congressional action to restore it, EPN says the grant needed per household would rise about 70%, from roughly $7,000 to $11,800. The same $7 billion would then reach about 594,000 households, and projected first-year savings would fall to about $271 million. Participating families would still save about 25% on bills, but fewer would benefit.

EPN cited an analysis by Democrats on the congressional Joint Economic Committee finding that average annual US electricity bills rose $110, or 6.4%, last year. It also pointed to a Consumer Reports survey showing one in five families were skimping on groceries to pay power bills, while about 21.5 million households were behind on energy bills.

The group is asking the EPA to approve revised work plans within 30 days, extend a temporary waiver for domestically assembled modules, grant no-cost extensions for time lost, prioritize projects ready to begin, and restore staff overseeing the program. It also called on the Treasury Department to clarify tax-credit rules for grant recipients and urged them to prioritize savings for low- and moderate-income households. Groundswell CEO Michelle Moore, whose organization received a $156 million grant, said it was ready to restart its Southeast Rural Power program and could reach thousands of families across the Rural South by this time next year.