Maryland Attorney General Anthony Brown is co-leading a lawsuit against the EPA for canceling $7 billion in energy grants.
Maryland Attorney General Anthony G. Brown, as well as Arizona Attorney General Kris Mayes, co-led a lawsuit filed last week in the U.S. Court of Federal Claims on behalf of grant recipients from Maryland and 23 other jurisdictions, seeking to recover damages for the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA’s) breach of previously executed grant agreements under the Solar for All program. That $7 billion program was intended to lower energy costs and pollution by bringing solar energy to more than 900,000 households in low-income and disadvantaged communities across the country. Maryland’s Solar for All grant was more than $62 million, which was deposited into the grant recipient’s account. Almost $1 million was drawn down from this grant before the administration abruptly cancelled the grant and clawed back the funds.
In addition, Attorney General Brown, along with a coalition of 22 other plaintiffs, recently brought a separate suit against the EPA and EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin in U.S. District Court to challenge the decision to unlawfully end the Solar for All Program.
Congress funded the Solar for All program in 2022 as part of the Inflation Reduction Act, directing EPA to make competitive grants to states and other entities to deploy solar projects in low-income and disadvantaged areas. In August 2024, EPA selected recipients and signed Grant Agreements awarding all of the program funds to plaintiff states and other grant recipients. Maryland’s grant recipient and the other plaintiffs moved forward with planning projects and working with stakeholders.
But the 24-state coalition alleges that EPA abruptly and unlawfully terminated the program two months ago and clawed back the vast majority of the money already awarded. That action left Maryland’s grant recipient and the other plaintiffs without access to the funds to proceed, after the states had already committed state funds and had spent significant time planning and launching programs.
In July, Congress passed the “One Big Beautiful Bill Act,” rescinding only funds that were unobligated for the Solar for All program as of July 3. The effect of that move was small, given that EPA had already obligated virtually all of the $7 billion for the program. Instead of following that newly passed law, EPA and Zeldin unlawfully terminated the program on August 7. The agency sent memos to all recipients, including the plaintiffs, saying EPA no longer has a “statutory basis or dedicated funding” for the program, even though Congress never directed EPA to cancel funds that had already been awarded.
In the lawsuit filed last week in the U.S. Court of Federal Claims, the states and other entities argue the EPA breached the clear terms of the agreements and violated the duty of good faith and fair dealing in canceling their Solar for All grants. They are asking the court to award the plaintiffs money damages, interest, and fees. In filing the complaint, Attorney General Brown is joined by the attorneys general of Arizona, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Hawaiʻi, Illinois, Massachusetts, Maine, Michigan, Minnesota, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont, Washington, and the District of Columbia. Also joining the complaint are the governor of Kentucky, the Pennsylvania Energy Development Authority, and the Wisconsin Economic Development Corporation.
Separately, in the lawsuit being filed last week in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Washington, Attorney General Brown and the plaintiffs allege, among other things, that the EPA violated the Administrative Procedure Act and the U.S. Constitution’s Separation of Powers Doctrine in unlawfully cancelling the program. Joining Attorney General Brown in filing the lawsuit, which was led by the attorneys general of Arizona, Minnesota, and Washington, are the attorneys general of California, Colorado, Connecticut, the District of Columbia, Hawaiʻi, Illinois, Massachusetts, Maine, Michigan, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, Oregon, Rhode Island, and Vermont. Also joining the complaint are the governor of Kentucky, the Pennsylvania Energy Development Authority, and the Wisconsin Economic Development Corporation.
