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EPA cuts $62M in ϳԹ solar energy grants

FILE: “At a time when households could benefit from transitioning to solar energy now more than ever, the Trump administration is attempting to terminate a program that would lower energy costs for families and businesses while also delivering clean energy,” Lamont said. “These funds belong to the taxpayers of ϳԹ.”
Raquel C. Zaldívar
/
New England News Collaborative
FILE: “At a time when households could benefit from transitioning to solar energy now more than ever, the Trump administration is attempting to terminate a program that would lower energy costs for families and businesses while also delivering clean energy,” Lamont said. “These funds belong to the taxpayers of ϳԹ.”

A federal grant designed to bring solar energy to low-income residents has been cancelled by the Trump administration and ϳԹ officials say the move will leave thousands of people without the financial assistance they need to make the switch.

The grant program, known as Solar for All, was created by the Biden administration to bring cheap, affordable solar energy to low-income households.

ϳԹ received $62.4 million from the program last year. The state was planning to use that money to help thousands of households transition to solar through an initiative called .

The project was focused on multi-family affordable housing units with participants of the program estimated to save about 20% off their energy bill, according to the Department of Energy and Environmental Protection (DEEP).

But the Environmental Protection Agency cancelled the program on Aug. 7. EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin said the grant was eliminated under the tax-and-spending law passed by President Trump last month.

DEEP said it received notice from the EPA Thursday night that the grant had been immediately cancelled.

Gov. Ned Lamont, a Democrat, decried the cancellation in a statement Friday afternoon.

“At a time when households could benefit from transitioning to solar energy now more than ever, the Trump administration is attempting to terminate a program that would lower energy costs for families and businesses while also delivering clean energy,” Lamont said. “These funds belong to the taxpayers of ϳԹ.”

ϳԹ officials say the move is unlawful and that they are looking into legal options.

Áine Pennello is a corps member who covers the environment and climate change for ϳԹ.

Áine Pennello is ϳԹ Radio’s environmental and climate change reporter. She is a member of Report for America, a national service program that places journalists in local newsrooms to cover under-reported issues and communities.

Federal funding is gone.

Congress has eliminated all funding for public media.

That means $2.1 million per year that ϳԹ relied on to deliver you news, information, and entertainment programs you enjoyed is gone.

The future of public media is in your hands.

All donations are appreciated, but we ask in this moment you consider starting a monthly gift as a Sustainer to help replace what’s been lost.

SOMOS CONNECTICUT is an initiative from ϳԹ, the state’s local NPR and PBS station, to elevate Latino stories and expand programming that uplifts and informs our Latino communities. Visit CTPublic.org/latino for more stories and resources. For updates, sign up for the SOMOS CONNECTICUT newsletter at ctpublic.org/newsletters.

SOMOS CONNECTICUT es una iniciativa de ϳԹ, la emisora local de NPR y PBS del estado, que busca elevar nuestras historias latinas y expandir programación que alza y informa nuestras comunidades latinas locales. Visita CTPublic.org/latino para más reportajes y recursos. Para noticias, suscríbase a nuestro boletín informativo en ctpublic.org/newsletters.

Federal funding is gone.

Congress has eliminated all funding for public media.

That means $2.1 million per year that ϳԹ relied on to deliver you news, information, and entertainment programs you enjoyed is gone.

The future of public media is in your hands.

All donations are appreciated, but we ask in this moment you consider starting a monthly gift as a Sustainer to help replace what’s been lost.

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ϳԹ’s journalism is made possible, in part by funding from Jeffrey Hoffman and Robert Jaeger.