The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s termination of a $7 billion grant program for solar energy projects will be the subject of a Michigan senate hearing Thursday beginning at 1:30 p.m.
State Senator Sean McCann of Kalamazoo is the chair of the Committee on Energy and Environment, which will be hearing from recipients of the Solar for All federal grant program that was cancelled in August.
Benton Harbor was one awardee affected by this cancellation, which put a project aimed at lowering water bills in limbo.
McCann said many recipients had already begun working on projects that would have improved solar infrastructure and made renewable energy more accessible.
“This is basically a rug pull like so many other things where the administration, the federal administration, the Trump administration and the EPA have found a way to basically revoke these grants after they had been promised but not delivered," he said.
McCann added that the cancellation has also put Michigan at a disadvantage.
“The Trump administration has thrown the car into reverse here and we're fighting to not go backwards and we're going to be fighting to still try to achieve our renewable energy goals in Michigan."
Michael Symonds reports for WMUK through the Report for America national service program.
