The Trump administration wants to kill more than $7 billion in already approved federal funding to help low- and moderate-income households install solar panels. That would include $3 million that the city of South Bend has been planning for.
The New York Times this week reported that President Trump’s Environmental Protection Agency is getting ready to terminate the Biden administration’s Solar For All grant program. Congress appropriated the money in the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022, Biden’s signature climate change law.
That $7 billion includes $117 million for Indiana. The city of South Bend’s Office of Sustainability has been planning a program that would give up to 150 income-qualified families loans to install the solar panels. Solar Opportunities Indiana Program Director Alison Becker says rooftop solar can reduce electric bills by up to 20%.
“That is money that can go toward food, medicine, clothes for kids, whatever it may be, and especially this summer as we’ve seen high bill concerns throughout most of Indiana, it’s really great to be able to provide a resource to reduce those bills,” Becker says.
The Southern Environmental Law Center has vowed to fight the cuts in court since Congress has already appropriated the money.
