Judge Rules EPA Unlawfully Terminated $250 Million Texas Solar Grants

A federal judge has ruled that the Environmental Protection Agency unlawfully terminated more than $250 million in Solar for All grants awarded across Texas, siding with Harris County in a challenge over the Trump administration's effort to cancel the program.

U.S. District Judge Tanya Chutkan ruled that the EPA violated the Administrative Procedure Act when it sought to rescind the $7 billion Solar for All program. The program was created to expand residential solar access for low-income and disadvantaged communities.

Harris County received $54 million in 2024 and challenged the EPA's termination of the grant after the agency sent the county a termination notice in August 2025. The county said the program was intended to lower energy costs, create jobs and establish solar-powered community hubs that could provide electricity during outages.

The EPA argued that Congress had effectively repealed Solar for All through the 2025 spending legislation and that the agency was required to terminate the grants. Chutkan rejected that interpretation, ruling that the law directed the EPA to rescind unobligated funds but did not authorize the agency to cancel funds that had already been obligated to grant recipients.

Chutkan vacated the termination decision but did not order the EPA to immediately restore Harris County's funding. The county says the ruling provides a path toward recovering the money, while the EPA has said the funds remain in a Treasury account.

Harris County Attorney Abbie Kamin said the county will continue working to protect the funding.

"I will continue to stand up against improper federal agency actions that are not only illegal, but also harm our communities," said Kamin.

The ruling follows a separate federal decision in Rhode Island challenging the termination of Solar for All grants. The EPA's own inspector general previously reported that the agency terminated the program in August 2025 and identified oversight and grant-management risks.

Solar for All was originally designed to help roughly 900,000 low-income and disadvantaged households access distributed solar nationwide.