Reviving Solar for All Could Save US Families Over $450 Million in the First Year

In the wake of recent court rulings against President Donald Trump's administration and voters ending his Republican Party's congressional majorities, the Environmental Protection Network on Thursday published an analysis that highlights how swiftly reviving a federal solar power program could save US households hundreds of millions of dollars in the first year alone.

EPN is an organization made up of former US Environmental Protection Agency officials, some of whom drafted the new brief, "Restore Solar for All: EPA Could Help a Million Families Cut Their Electric Bills by 25%."

Solar for All is a $7 billion grant initiative created under the Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund from former President Joe Biden's Inflation Reduction Act. Since returning to office last year, Trump has aimed to serve the climate-wrecking fossil fuel industry and waged a war on renewable energy. His EPA terminated the program's grants in August 2025, sparking legal battles.

On September 18, Trump-appointed US Judge Mary McElroy in the District of Rhode Island ruled that the EPA's termination of Solar for All violated the Administrative Procedure Act. On September 22, Judge Tanya Sue Chutkan, an appointee of former President Barack Obama in the District of Columbia, issued a similar ruling. Those decisions present an opportunity to restart the program.

"Families are skipping groceries to keep their lights on, yet restarting Solar for All could ultimately deliver more than $450 million a year in electricity bill savings," said EPN executive director Michelle Roos in a statement. "Two federal courts have now said EPA broke the law when it terminated Solar for All grants. Instead of keeping families in the dark, EPA should take this opportunity to help a million households cut their electricity bills."

Specifically, EPN projects first-year savings of $458 million, or about $456 per household, which could grow over time. The report breaks down the number of families reached and how much they would each save by state. It also details the locations and average savings of the over 74,000 tribal households reached by the program.

The Trump administration's appeal deadline is approaching, and the brief warns that if the legal fights push a restart past December 31, 2027, it "could permanently deny approximately 410,000 households almost $500 per year in bill savings."

"Once the deadline passes, the commercial solar credit is gone for every system not yet operating," the report explains. "Absent
subsequent action from Congress to restore the tax credit, the grant needed per household rises by about 70%, from about $7,000 to about $11,800."

"The same $7 billion would then reach about 594,000 households, roughly 410,000 fewer than a prompt restart," the publication continues. "Total first-year savings fall from about $458 million to about $271 million. The families who do participate still save about 25%, but far fewer families benefit."

The report also emphasizes how needed the larger savings are as Trump's policies, from his so-called One Big Beautiful Bill Act and support for energy-sucking artificial intelligence data centers to his illegal war on Iran, drive up electric bills.

Even before Trump began bombing Iran in February, the average annual US electric bill had increased by $110, or 6.4%, last year, according to an analysis from Democrats on the congressional Joint Economic Committee.

The report notes that "a recent Consumer Reports survey showed 1 in 5 American families are skimping on groceries to pay their power bills, and roughly 21.5 million US households are behind on their energy bills."

In addition to reviving Solar for All, EPN is calling on the EPA to take various related actions, which include approving work plan revisions within 30 days, extending a temporary waiver for domestically assembled modules, granting no-cost extensions for the months lost, prioritizing shovel-ready projects, and restoring staff in the office that runs the program.

The group also urged the US Department of the Treasury to give grantees certainty on tax credits, plus encouraged grantees to move quickly on projects and prioritize bill savings for low- and moderate-income households.

Michelle Moore, CEO of Groundswell, which received a $156 million Solar for All grant, said in EPN's statement that it "stands at the ready to restart our Southeast Rural Power Solar for All program," and "I'm confident we could reach thousands of families across the Rural South with deep bill savings by this time next year."