Every Solar-Related Policy Change Since January

Quick note: I’ve designed today’s episode to be an overview that you can send to friends and family to show them the policies of this administration that affect solar energy, all in one place. Enjoy!

When we’re plugged into the news cycle, it can be easy to get angry about something and then forget it. Especially since so much is coming at us daily, and so much news isn’t related to clean energy.

So I’ve decided to take today’s episode to do a recap of policies that have been passed since January that affect the solar industry.

If I’ve missed anything, please let me know in the comments!

January 20 (Inauguration Day)

President Trump signed two executive orders on his first day in office:

* Declaring a National Energy Emergency

* Unleashing American Energy

The National Energy Emergency order declared high energy prices and state-level climate policies a national security threat, giving federal agencies broad emergency powers to fast-track energy projects, bypass environmental reviews (under NEPA, Clean Water Act, and Endangered Species Act), and even use eminent domain or the Defense Production Act to accelerate infrastructure.

The Unleashing American Energy order revoked nearly every Biden-era climate and clean energy directive, halted Inflation Reduction Act funding (including solar and EV programs), dismantled the social cost of carbon, and directed agencies to rescind any rules that “burden” domestic energy development.

Neither one mentioned solar specifically, but they set the stage for this administration’s policies by excluding solar and wind from the definition of “energy.”

Sec. 8. Definitions. For purposes of this order, the following definitions shall apply:

(a) The term “energy” or “energy resources” means crude oil, natural gas, lease condensates, natural gas liquids, refined petroleum products, uranium, coal, biofuels, geothermal heat, the kinetic movement of flowing water, and critical minerals, as defined by 30 U.S.C. 1606 (a)(3).

February 5th

The administration froze funding for the EPA’s $7 billion Solar for All program.

Solar for All was designed to help low-income households go solar through grants and loans, thereby lowering their electricity bills.

Grant recipients, including nonprofits like GRID Alternatives and several states, were abruptly notified that reimbursements were suspended and the funding portal was shut down, leaving hundreds of millions of dollars in approved projects in limbo.

The freeze stemmed from President Trump’s Unleashing American Energy executive order, which directed agencies to halt climate-related IRA and infrastructure law spending while prioritizing fossil fuel development

April 8th

President Trump signed another Executive Order:

PROTECTING AMERICAN ENERGY FROM STATE OVERREACH

Again, this Executive Order omitted solar and wind from the list of energy-generating resources:

My Administration is committed to unleashing American energy, especially through the removal of all illegitimate impediments to the identification, development, siting, production, investment in, or use of domestic energy resources — particularly oil, natural gas, coal, hydropower, geothermal, biofuel, critical mineral, and nuclear energy resources.

This executive order directs the Department of Justice to challenge and overturn state and local laws that impose climate-related restrictions on energy production.

It specifically targets policies like carbon caps, climate liability lawsuits, environmental justice rules, and renewable energy standards that the administration views as “burdensome” or “ideologically motivated.”

While the order is framed as protecting fossil fuels, it could directly harm solar deployment. It’s designed to favor fossil fuels by stripping states of their ability to set climate or renewable energy goals.

May 20th

Steep tariffs on imported solar panels go into effect:

In May 2025, the U.S. International Trade Commission finalized a decision to impose steep antidumping and countervailing duties on solar cells and panels imported from Cambodia, Malaysia, Thailand, and Vietnam.