Overview:
Idaho Sierra Club is deeply concerned about the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) attempt to dissolve the Solar for All program, including terminating Idaho’s $56.5m grant under that program.
Idaho’s Solar for All program is an historic investment in energy affordability and economic development. Thanks to this program, 15,000 people across Idaho would gain access to low-cost, reliable solar energy that would lower their electricity bills.
EPA’s proposed termination could not come at a worse time for hardworking families and small businesses across Idaho. Solar for All funds are exclusively designated for use in low-income, rural, and other disadvantaged communities where people are already struggling to make ends meet. These investments are required to slash household electricity costs by 20 percent, lowering electricity bills for each household that benefits from the program by $400 each year.
Across the United States, electricity rates are rapidly rising. From May 2024 to May 2025, the average price of electricity rose by 3.3 percent in Idaho, and many Idaho utilities are already pursuing higher rate increases than we have seen in years. Soaring energy demand from data centers and extreme heat waves are straining the grid – and people in Idaho are paying the price. Investments made through Idaho’s Solar for All program are a vital tool for combatting these skyrocketing energy prices.
EPA’s attempt to terminate Idaho’s Solar for All program is misguided and unjustified. If EPA succeeds, everyday people across Idaho will be forced to foot the bill through higher electricity bills.
Idaho Sierra Club Statement:
“We’re appalled that the EPA is trying to clawback Idaho's $56.5m Solar For All grant to bring solar and lower power bills to 15,000 low-income Idahoans. It's illegal, and it's immoral,” said Lisa Young, Director of Idaho Sierra Club. “With climate impacts and power bills surging, we need to be rapidly deploying local, affordable clean energy - not doubling down on increasingly expensive, toxic, and aging coal plants. We'll keep fighting to maintain the Solar For All program, to preserve Idaho's funds, and to expand equitable solar options in Idaho.”
TAKE ACTION:
Send a message to Idaho Governor Little, Attorney General Labrador, and your representatives in Congress, urging them to tell the EPA to immediately HALT its process of illegally trying to rescind Idaho’s $56.5m Solar For All program grant, which would lower the power bills of 15,000 Idahoans through local solar power.