Solar Save | Court Halts EPA Program Repeal

Last week, a federal judge ruled the EPA unlawfully terminated its Solar for All program, which was designed to expand solar access in lower-income communities. The judge found the agency’s action violated the Administrative Procedure Act, rejecting the EPA’s claim that the One Big Beautiful Bill Act authorized it to cancel the $7 billion program. The EPA had estimated that the program would reach more than 900,000 lower-income households.

Solar for All was part of the $27 billion Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund created under the 2022 Inflation Reduction Act (IRA). The remaining $20 billion, allocated to other grant programs, is subject to separate litigation and was not directly affected by this ruling. The EPA is reviewing the decision and considering an appeal.

The ruling marks a legal setback for the EPA as it continues to roll back emissions standards elsewhere, including its recent partial repeal of carbon pollution standards for fossil fuel-fired power plants. Annual rooftop solar installations, currently around 7 GW, are forecast to reach 8 GW by 2030, with growth depending partly on incentives such as Solar for All. Vacating the program’s termination removes one legal obstacle to that growth and suggests some IRA incentives may prove more durable than the Trump administration expected.

Research Highlights:

• 3Q26 Long-Term Capacity Expansion – The Reliability-Led Power Buildout – Enverus Intelligence® Research projects a storage-led buildout of the Lower 48 power supply through 2050, with 1,080 GW of new capacity lifting installed capacity from 1,435 GW to 2,284 GW. Battery storage, solar and natural gas lead additions, but the path diverges sharply by region as some markets scale renewables while others lean on gas and nuclear. Falling geothermal and nuclear costs and rising gas capex reshape where each technology wins.
• ERCOT Batch Zero – Who Gets Energized, Who Waits? – ERCOT’s Batch Zero classification gives large-load developers a sense of their path to energization, but certainty remains limited. We find that only 8.8 GW of the 191.8 GW classified is associated with published near-term Quarterly Stability Assessment deadlines, while the largest and least visible projects face additional study and transmission uncertainty.
• Grid Supply Chain Risk – Few Suppliers, Many Developers Exposed – EIR provides a data-driven analysis of the grid equipment, manufacturers and developers most exposed to Executive Order 14421 restrictions on foreign-produced bulk-power-system equipment.

Top Three Takeaways:

1: Why did a federal judge block the EPA’s repeal of the Solar for
All program?

A federal judge ruled that the EPA unlawfully terminated Solar for All, finding the agency’s action violated the Administrative Procedure Act. The judge rejected the EPA’s argument that the One Big Beautiful Bill Act authorized it to cancel the $7 billion program, which the EPA had estimated would reach more than 900,000 lower-income households.

2: What is the Solar for All program and how does it connect to the Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund?

Solar for All was part of the $27 billion Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund created under the 2022 Inflation Reduction Act. It was designed to expand solar access in lower-income communities, with $7 billion allocated specifically to this program while the remaining $20 billion supports other grant programs currently facing separate litigation.

3: What does this ruling mean for rooftop solar growth through 2030?

Annual rooftop solar installations, currently around 7 GW, are forecast to reach 8 GW by 2030, with growth depending partly on incentives such as Solar for All. Vacating the program’s termination removes one legal obstacle to that growth and suggests some IRA incentives may prove more durable than the Trump administration expected.