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A solar energy system on a condominium project in Mystic. Credit: Earthlight Technologies

A reported plan by the Trump administration to take back $7 billion in grant money from a nationwide solar program for low-income and disadvantaged communities called Solar For All would put an end to several clean energy projects in Connecticut, officials with the state Department of Energy and Environmental Protection said.

The anticipated clawback was first reported this week by the New York Times, which said the 60 entities in 49 states that had been awarded grants could receive termination letters from the Environmental Protection Agency as soon as this week.

“If federal support is withdrawn, states like Connecticut could be forced to halt or delay shovel-ready projects that are prepared to cut costs, clean the air, and make our grid more resilient,” DEEP spokesman James Fowler said in an email. “It would come at a time of record energy prices, rising electricity demand, and growing strain on households and infrastructure.” 

Connecticut’s award under Solar for All is $62.45 million. It was announced April 22, 2024 and fully obligated on July 12 of that year — which should insulate it from losing funding.

But the program’s money comes via the Inflation Reduction Act, a prime recission target of Donald J. Trump’s administration — along with many of the populations Solar For All was designed to serve.

It is also part of a $27 billion Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund. The Trump administration has already targeted $20 million of that for clawbacks, which has resulted in legal action — already ongoing for months.

In response to emailed questions about the agency’s plans, an EPA spokesperson provided a statement: “With the passage of the One Big Beautiful Bill, EPA is working to ensure Congressional intent is fully implemented in accordance with the law.” The spokesperson did not respond to specific questions including what the legal basis would be for rescinding obligated funding.

“The award is a cornerstone of our affordability and energy justice efforts, and Connecticut is already well into the implementation process,” Fowler said. He said DEEP has already received some funds from the award. 

Led by DEEP, Connecticut developed a multi-department Solar For All program it calls “Project SunBridge – Connecting Communities to a Solar Future.” Its priority is to provide solar power to multi-family affordable housing that results in an energy savings of at least 20%.

The biggest funding recipient would be the Connecticut Green Bank, which would get $43.05 million to generate loans, grants and other financing products. The EPA approved the plan and budget on January 15, 2025, just days before Trump took office.

The components of Connecticut’s plan include a revolving loan fund for solar systems, energy storage, and enabling upgrades for multifamily affordable housing through the Connecticut Housing Finance Authority. Among the Green Bank’s offerings would be a solar lease option for single-family homes, loan and lease options for multifamily affordable housing and grants for energy storage installed with solar along with other needed upgrades. There is also funding for a number of side components including technical assistance, workforce development, community support and engagement and customer outreach.

On June 24, 2025, DEEP issued a request for proposals for a technical assistance initiative and a request for comments. The original July 8 deadline was extended to July 18.

The Biden administration said last year, when the program winners were announced, that it would serve “over 900,000 households in low-income and disadvantaged communities” nationwide. And they said it would create “hundreds of thousands of good-paying jobs, saving $8 billion in energy costs for families, delivering cleaner air, and combating climate change.” 

The reported funding termination comes as part of administration action in the recently signed tax and spending legislation as well as several executive orders — which began the day Trump took office — designed to disincentivize renewable energy, including solar specifically, in favor of using more fossil fuels for power.

EPA has indicated no decision on terminating the program had been made as of yet.

“If leaders in the Trump administration move forward with this unlawful attempt to strip critical funding from communities across the United States, we will see them in court,” Kym Meyer, litigation director of the Southern Environmental Law Center said in a statement on the group’s website. “We have already seen the immense good this program has done on the ground and we won’t let it be snatched away to score political points.”

DEEP has similar plans. “We hope that the EPA will not attempt to rescind funding for this important program,” Fowler said. “But should it do so, we will work closely with the Office of the Attorney General and the Governor’s Office to evaluate our options and determine the most appropriate next steps.”

Jan Ellen is CT Mirror's regular freelance Environment and Energy Reporter. As a freelance reporter, her stories have also appeared in The New York Times, The Boston Globe, Yale Climate Connections, and elsewhere. She is a former editor at The Hartford Courant, where she handled national politics including coverage of the controversial 2000 and 2004 presidential elections. She was an editor at the Gazette in Colorado Springs and spent more than 20 years as a TV and radio producer at CBS News and CNN in New York and in the Boston broadcast market. In 2013 she was the recipient of a Knight Journalism Fellowship at MIT on energy and climate. She graduated from the University of Michigan and attended Boston University’s graduate film program.