Within a few days after launch on Aug. 4, nearly a thousand families across Georgia signed up to receive free solar panels from Georgia BRIGHT, one of 60 programs offering residential solar power to low-income households under the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) $7 billion Solar for All Program.
At the time, Georgia BRIGHT founder Alicia Brown was assured that funding was sealed.
“We’re feeling really confident about the program,” said Brown in an interview on July 30. “Our funds are obligated, and have been since December of 2024.”
But just three days later on Aug. 7, EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin announced on video that the agency will be executing the One Big Beautiful Bill Act’s (OBBBA) intent to “eliminate billions of green slush fund dollars by repealing the Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund, including a $7 billion program called Solar for All.”
Now, Georgia BRIGHT must return to the drawing board to restore the program, including taking legal action.
“We will fight for this program because the rule of law matters and because Georgia families, small businesses, and the local economy can’t afford to lose the benefits we are poised to deliver,” said Brown in a statement.
Trees Atlanta is a community benefit participant of the previously launched Georgia BRIGHT commercial pilot program.
On Aug. 4, Georgia BRIGHT announced it will begin distributing its first round of solar panels to 400 low-income households across the state with no upfront, ongoing, or maintenance fees.
“Our whole purpose is to serve those who are underserved,” said Brown. For these families, losing power could mean “losing a refrigerator full of groceries [that] can be a really serious financial hit.” With solar panels installed, not only will residents be resistant to power outages, but they can also expect a 50 to 70% reduction in energy bill costs upon installation, she added.
And with weather emergencies increasingly common in Georgia, “having that backup power can be a matter of life and death,” said Brown.
As a largely privately funded solar program, Georgia BRIGHT was unable to offer low-income homeowners and renters panels at no cost, until its first federally funded initiative of $156 million to install panels at thousands of households statewide from 2025 and 2029.
But effective Aug. 7, Solar for All grants were terminated nationwide in states such as Michigan, Pennsylvania and Arkansas. In his announcement, Zeldin cited a few reasons for the program’s termination including “middlemen taking their own cut, at least 15% by conservative estimates,” and grant recipients still being “in the early planning phase, not the building and construction process.”
Zeldin did not offer any evidence to support his claims, nor the source of the estimates. The Savannah Morning News contacted the EPA press office for an explanation, but no response was given at the time of publication.
Some programs have already broken ground, such as D.C.-based Groundswell that serves 12 states including Georgia, which has used already just over 12% of its funding implementing 24 megawatts of solar projects, as reported by CBS News. Earlier this year, North Dakota-based nonprofit Indigenized Energy announced that the Chippewa Cree Tribe and the Oglala Sioux Tribe installed their first solar panels, according to Initiative for Energy Justice.
“The bottom line again is this: EPA no longer has the authority to administer the program or the appropriated funds to keep this boondoggle alive,” said Zeldin. This “boondoggle” is just one of many programs that have fallen through the cracks amidst the OBBBA’s hammering of renewable energy tax credits, incentives, and loans distributed and introduced in the Biden era.
“We are deeply disappointed and fully prepared to use every avenue legally available to us to regain access to the funds,” said Brown in a statement. “Should the program be restored, we look forward to continuing our first Solar for All product, a no-cost solar plan for low-income Georgians.”
Jillian Magtoto covers climate change and the environment in coastal Georgia. You can reach her at jmagtoto@gannett.com.
This article originally appeared on Savannah Morning News: Georgia BRIGHT responds to EPA termination of Solar for All funding
