Attorney General Ellison leads multi-state lawsuit challenging EPA’s attacks on affordable clean energy for low-income households
Ellison fighting to protect $62 million in clean-energy investments in Minnesota
October 17, 2025 (SAINT PAUL) — Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison announced today that he and 22 other plaintiffs are suing the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin for illegally ending the $7 billion Solar for All program that lowers energy costs and pollution by bringing solar energy to more than 900,000 households in low-income and disadvantaged communities across the country. Minnesota and 23 other grant recipients also filed suit yesterday in the U.S. Court of Federal Claims to recover damages for EPA’s unlawful breach of the grant agreements that were executed under this program.
Congress created the Solar for All program in 2022 as part of the Inflation Reduction Act, directing EPA to make competitive grants to states and other entities to deploy solar projects in low-income and disadvantaged areas. EPA selected recipients and obligated all of the program funds to plaintiff states and other grant recipients by August 2024. Minnesota and the other plaintiffs moved forward with planning projects and working with stakeholders to develop their solar programs.
But two months ago, EPA abruptly and unlawfully terminated the program and clawed back the vast majority of the money already awarded. That left Minnesota and the other plaintiffs without access to the funds to proceed after the states had spent significant time planning and launching programs and committing state funds. Minnesota was counting on more than $62 million of federal solar funding, including planning to use almost $47 million to finance community solar gardens, tribal solar programs, solar loans for multifamily housing, and financial assistance for eligible single-family homes. Minnesota also planned to invest $15.6 million in workforce development, project development assistance, and community engagement.
“It's my job to protect Minnesotans when the Trump administration violates the law and harms people across our state.” said Attorney General Ellison. “The Solar for All Program was created to provide clean, reliable, and affordable energy to Americans in every state, and the President and his administration broke the law by unilaterally trying to end it. I won’t allow the Trump administration to illegally halt a program that’s going to help Minnesotans afford their lives and pay their energy bills, so I’m taking this administration to court."
When President Trump came into office earlier this year, he prioritized fossil fuel extraction to address an alleged “energy emergency” while arbitrarily excluding solar power as a resource that can be tapped to meet the country’s energy needs. In July, Congress passed the president’s “One Big Beautiful Bill Act,” rescinding funds for the Solar for All program that were unobligated as of July 3. The effect of that move was small, given that EPA had obligated virtually all of the $7 billion for the program nearly a year earlier.
But instead of following that newly passed law, EPA and Zeldin illegally terminated the program on August 7. On social media, Zeldin made baseless accusations, calling Solar for All a “boondoggle.” The agency then sent memos to all recipients, including the plaintiffs, saying EPA no longer has a “statutory basis or dedicated funding” for the program, even though Congress never directed EPA to cancel funds that had already been awarded. In fact, Congress did the opposite by only rescinding unobligated funds for Solar for All.
Attorney General Ellison led the filing of the complaint along with the attorneys general of Arizona and Washington, and was joined by the attorneys general of California, Colorado, Connecticut, the District of Columbia, Hawaiʻi, Illinois, Massachusetts, Maine, Maryland, Michigan, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, Oregon, Rhode Island, and Vermont. Also joining the complaint are the governors of Kentucky and Pennsylvania, as well as the Wisconsin Economic Development Corporation.
Separately, Attorney General Ellison also joined a related lawsuit filed this week in the U.S. Court of Federal Claims. In that complaint, the states and other entities argue the EPA breached the clear terms of the agreements and violated the duty of good faith and fair-dealing in canceling their Solar for All grants. They are asking the court to award the plaintiffs money damages, interest, and fees. The attorneys general of Maryland and Arizona are leading the complaint, which was joined by grant recipients from California, Colorado, Connecticut, the District of Columbia, Hawaii, Illinois, Maine, Massachusetts, Michigan, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Vermont, Washington, and Wisconsin. Also joining this complaint is the Governor of Kentucky.
