Washington, D.C. – Congresswoman Maggie Goodlander (NH-02), alongside Senators Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH) and Maggie Hassan (D-NH) and Representative Chris Pappas (NH-01), sent a letter to U.S. Department of Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Administrator Lee Zeldin opposing the Trump administration’s move to end the Solar for All program and unlawfully rescind the existing grant for New Hampshire. If the EPA terminates this grant from the Inflation Reduction Act, New Hampshire would lose over $43.5 million to help reduce energy costs for Granite State communities and families who need it most.
The delegation wrote, in part: “We write with concern in response to the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) decision to end the Solar for All program, which Congress created in order to help reduce energy costs for families. If EPA rescinds existing, legally obligated grants under this program, New Hampshire will lose $43.5 million that would have lowered energy bills for Granite State communities who need it most. This unlawful action would directly contradict our shared goal of lowering costs for American households.”
They continued: “Beginning in 2025, the Community Loan Fund planned to use this funding to support energy projects for up to 20 resident-owned manufactured home communities. Similarly, NH Housing planned to use this funding to install community solar on workforce housing projects, which would improve housing affordability for working families. The NH Department of Energy, as the lead applicant, planned to expand community energy programs across the state for communities not covered by its partners. These projects were designed to reduce costs for low-income households and would reduce utility bills for those households by 20 percent or more […] These organizations are already preparing to put this money to work and are incurring costs to do so. By rescinding these grants, the Administration would force costs onto nonprofits and deny low income households much-needed relief from increasing energy costs.
They concluded: “Unlawfully terminating the Solar for All grants would only lead to chaos at the state agencies and impede New Hampshire’s efforts to lower energy costs for working families. We urge you to continue this grant in accordance with the law for the benefit of Granite State communities.”
Funding from the Solar for All program supports a comprehensive approach to bringing solar energy to those least able to afford the technology and will be administered by the New Hampshire Department of Energy (NHDOE), The New Hampshire Community Loan Fund and New Hampshire Housing Finance Authority. Much of the funding will also support affordable housing — the Community Loan Fund will target funds to resident-owned manufactured housing parks, and NH Housing will use funding to install residential-serving community solar on workforce housing projects. The NHDOE will scale up its existing community solar program to support communities or projects that do not neatly fit into the Community Loan Fund and Housing Finance Authority programs.
You can read the full letter HERE.
