A federal judge has ruled that the EPA unlawfully terminated the $7 billion Solar for All program, an initiative created to expand access to residential and community solar for low-income and disadvantaged households.
The program was intended to reach more than 900,000 households nationwide and help families lower their electricity costs while expanding access to clean energy.
That matters because the transition to clean energy should not be something only higher-income households can afford.
Energy justice asks bigger questions:
Who gets access to clean energy?
Who gets help lowering their power bill?
Who pays when electricity demand increases?
And who benefits from the billions of dollars being invested in our energy system?
Those questions are increasingly important here in Nevada, where we are having major conversations about electricity rates, new generation, transmission infrastructure, water, and the enormous energy demands associated with data centers.
For LEAN, creation care and economic justice are connected.
Our Lutheran tradition calls us to care for creation and our neighbor. That means an energy transition should consider not only how electricity is generated, but whether families struggling with housing, food, health care, and utility costs are able to share in its benefits.
The court ruling does not necessarily end the legal fight over Solar for All. The EPA has indicated it is reviewing its options.
But it raises an important question as Nevada considers its own energy future:
Are we building an energy system that works for everyone—or only asking everyone to help pay for it?
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