Jennifer McCoy desperately needed help with her electric bills, which had skyrocketed to over $500 a month. She entered a drawing for a free solar panel installation, hoping for relief.
The 39-year-old was profoundly disappointed when the drawing was suddenly canceled. What truly surprised her, as a staunch supporter of President Trump, was the reason: his administration had revoked $7 billion in federal grants. These grants were specifically designed to help low- and moderate-income families install rooftop solar panels.
“I agree with many of President Trump’s views, but now that I understand what happened with the solar panels, it’s something I don’t like,” McCoy stated during an interview outside her home in Adairsville, Georgia, a town of about 4,900 residents nestled between Atlanta and Chattanooga, Tennessee.
Across Georgia and the nation, electricity bills have surged in recent months. Despite this, the Trump administration has pulled billions in federal funding for renewable energy, such as solar and wind power, which could alleviate financial pressure on working-class families. These cuts are notably impacting the very Republican-led states that helped elect him.
The “Solar for All” program serves as a stark illustration of these policy reversals. Established under the 2022 Inflation Reduction Act, it aimed to bring solar energy within reach for over 900,000 households. Its dual purpose was to curb fossil fuel consumption, a major contributor to climate change, and to help families save approximately $400 per year on their electricity costs.
Although President Trump frequently dismisses renewable energy initiatives as a “green new scam,” the Environmental Protection Agency’s decision to end Solar for All caught many seasoned energy analysts off guard. The program was widely believed to be secure from repeal, especially since Republican-led states like Alabama, Georgia, and South Carolina had actively pursued or already secured funding.
Andy Posner, founder and CEO of Capital Good Fund, a nonprofit assisting low-income individuals with energy-efficient home improvements, described the program as “the rainbows and puppies of clean energy — it was truly apolitical.”
The Georgia Bright Communities Coalition, a consortium of nonprofits, local governments, and businesses led by Capital Good Fund, secured a $156 million Solar for All grant last year. They intended to allocate $12 million of this grant to conduct two randomized drawings, offering free solar installations to up to 900 low-income households in Georgia. On August 4th, Georgia Bright launched its first drawing, attracting 500 household sign-ups within just 24 hours.
Just three days later, the EPA declared the termination of Solar for All grants for all 60 recipients, which included various nonprofits, state agencies, and Native American tribes. EPA administrator Lee Zeldin publicly denounced the program as a “boondoggle” on social media, claiming it would squander “billions of green slush fund dollars.”
This sudden policy reversal in Washington immediately sparked alarm among grant recipients nationwide. In Adairsville, Ms. McCoy found an email from Georgia Bright confirming the drawing was on hold.
As a single mother of three, McCoy juggles two jobs, working as an assistant manager at a tire store and a delivery driver for Walmart. Despite relying on food stamps for groceries, she battles to keep up with other expenses. Her August electricity bill from Georgia Power, the state’s largest provider, was approximately $548 – the same month Solar for All was terminated.
In Adairsville and the surrounding Bartow County, where over three-quarters of residents voted for Trump in 2024, solar panels are a far less common sight than campaign signs for the former president.
McCoy clarified that she maintains her support for Trump due to his stance on abortion, which aligns with her strong opposition to it. However, she admitted she is still grappling with the president’s direct involvement in scrapping the Solar for All initiative.
“I never truly considered him to be the one responsible for this,” she reflected. “But now, I definitely have something to ponder.”
A Growing Financial Burden
Since 2023, Georgia Power’s residential customers, including Ms. McCoy, have experienced an average annual bill increase of $518, a staggering 33 percent surge. Consequently, Georgia now ranks among the states with the highest utility bills nationwide, surpassed only by Alaska, Connecticut, Hawaii, and West Virginia.
Georgia Power has hiked residential rates six times in two years, primarily to offset the $17 billion budget overrun from a nuclear power plant expansion. However, Republican Governor Brian Kemp announced in May that a deal with state regulators would freeze base rates for the next three years.
According to John Kraft, a Georgia Power spokesman, the utility is “keeping electricity affordable for our customers” and views the nuclear plant expansion as “a long-term investment in reliable, emission-free energy.” He also noted that the rate freeze would shield customers from future cost hikes linked to new artificial intelligence data centers.
Seth Gunning, founder and CEO of Sunpath Solar, a company partnered with Georgia Bright, observed that soaring electricity costs have driven increased interest from customers in the state’s rural, conservative areas.
“Both Republicans and Democrats pay power bills, and Solar for All definitely wasn’t just benefiting primarily Democratic states,” Gunning emphasized. “There’s significant demand in many historically conservative areas of Georgia; people are truly struggling.”
Indeed, residents in more liberal cities such as Atlanta, Decatur, and Savannah also participated in Georgia Bright’s drawing for complimentary rooftop solar panels. Among them was Anh Nguyen, 47, an East Atlanta resident whose Georgia Power bill neared $470 in August.
Nguyen, a tech company founder, resides in a modest 1,000-square-foot, three-bedroom home with her husband and two young children. She expressed bewilderment at her “astronomical” power bill, noting that her family owns no “extravagant” energy-guzzling appliances.
“They are essentially robbing me blind,” she commented during an interview in her kitchen, where she was attempting to cool the 76-degree room with a fan, opting against air conditioning to conserve power.
Nguyen investigated installing solar panels independently, outside the Solar for All program, but found the upfront cost—ranging from $12,000 to $20,000—to be prohibitive.
Conservative politicians and academics have consistently argued against government spending to make solar energy affordable for certain families. They celebrated when the Republican-controlled Congress passed President Trump’s domestic policy bill, which eliminated federal tax credits for wind and solar energy.
“We need a level playing field without subsidies for wind and solar; the wind is free, and the sun shines for free,” stated Diana Furchtgott-Roth, director of the Center for Energy, Climate and Environment at the conservative Heritage Foundation. (It’s worth noting that fossil fuels like oil and gas have historically benefited from significant federal tax breaks for decades.)
Representatives for Georgia’s nine House Republicans did not provide comments when contacted during the recent government shutdown.
Tim Echols, a Republican on the Georgia Public Service Commission, which oversees state utilities, wrote to the EPA in August advocating for the Solar for All program.
He argued, “This rooftop solar program, though simple, makes perfect sense to me. It allows people who could never otherwise afford a rooftop investment to participate.”
When contacted on Tuesday, Echols commented, “The president is acting in what he believes is the country’s best interest, and I support his efforts to control costs. In Georgia, we have strategically expanded solar energy where it makes sense.”
A Brewing Legal Challenge
The ultimate fate of Solar for All now rests with the courts, and Ms. Nguyen is a key participant in this unfolding legal battle.
This week, Ms. Nguyen became a plaintiff in a federal lawsuit filed in Rhode Island, challenging the EPA’s termination of the Solar for All grants. The Rhode Island AFL-CIO, a union group that had previously trained workers for solar panel installations after receiving a $49.3 million grant, is the lead plaintiff.
The lawsuit alleges that the EPA illegally revoked the grants without the necessary congressional approval.
“We are in court because the EPA unjustly snatched this program from families,” stated Nick Torrey, a senior attorney at the Southern Environmental Law Center, which co-filed the suit with three other nonprofit organizations. “This case carries significant implications for the program itself and for the administration’s broader authority over spending decisions across the board.”
Brigit Hirsch, an EPA spokeswoman, refrained from commenting on the ongoing litigation.
Energy Secretary Chris Wright, much like Lee Zeldin, has often voiced skepticism about solar power’s reliability. At a New York Times Climate Forward conference in September, Wright remarked, “You need power when the sun is hidden by clouds or when it sets, which happens almost every night.”
However, advocates for solar energy contend that these concerns are exaggerated, pointing to advancements in battery technology that allow solar-generated electricity to be stored and used whenever needed.
Marc Thomas, 79, shared that since installing 14 solar panels and a battery backup system on his Savannah home in 2023, he and his wife have enjoyed uninterrupted power. “We sought very reliable, safe power, and that’s exactly what we achieved,” he stated.
Following Hurricane Helene’s destructive path across the Southeast last fall, the Thomases’ home remained illuminated while their neighbors endured a week-long blackout. Crucially, Mr. Thomas, who suffers from severe sleep apnea, could continue using his essential breathing machine.
The Thomases had participated in Georgia Bright’s pilot program, which offered discounted solar panels and batteries through a roughly $100 per month lease to about 100 households. Unfortunately, Georgia Bright has yet to reschedule the free solar installation drawings, and three other programs designed to provide affordable solar panels for homes and businesses remain on hold.
Alicia Brown, director of Georgia Bright, explained that while the legal battle unfolds, her organization is actively seeking private funding to bridge the gap left by the Trump administration’s decision.
“While the solar industry has faced challenges, it remains a sound and low-risk investment,” Brown asserted. “If we can attract the right private funders to step in, we can still achieve significant progress. However, if everyone withdraws like the federal government, it will be a substantial setback.”