Rep. Mike Soboleski (R-Phillips) penned a letter to U.S. Attorney General (AG) Pam Bondi, signed by nearly every Republican in the Maine state legislature, calling for a review of they called the Maine’s burdensome, costly and unfair “clean energy” policies.

“I am writing to request a review of certain state-level laws and programs in Maine that may conflict with the principles outlined in President Donald J. Trump’s Executive Order titled “Protecting American Energy From State Overreach,” issued on April 8, 2025. This Executive Order emphasizes the need to address state and local policies that impose undue burdens on domestic energy production and may be unconstitutional or preempted by federal law,” Rep. Soboleski reminded.

President Trump’s order directed the Attorney General to review and take action against state laws that place undue burdens on domestic energy production with unconstitutional laws or laws preempted by federal regulations in the name of addressing climate change or forwarding “environmental justice.”

The Republican letter provided AG Bondi with a list of Maine’s policies that potentially violate the president’s order.

At the top of Soboleski’s list is the extremely controversial Net Energy Billing policy, intended to encourage renewable energy such as solar. The program grants credits on electric bills for homeowners with solar or other renewable energy sources, but forces other Mainers to subsidize those credits through substantial rate increases.

“This system disproportionately affects lower income residents who cannot afford to invest in solar panels or participate in community solar projects, effectively forcing them to subsidize wealthier individuals who can,” the letter stated.

It also highlighted Maine’s participation in the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative, which imposes emissions limits on power plants and requires companies to purchase emissions “allowances.” Like Net Energy Billing, this policy increases costs for energy producers, which are then passed on to consumers, raising energy rates.

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The letter raised concerns about Maine’s emission reduction goals and the state’s renewable portfolio standards that mandate ever-increasing percentages of the state’s energy come from “renewable” sources.

Soboleski also warned of the potential future burdens imposed by Maine’s growing renewable energy programs, such as offshore wind, aimed at reducing greenhouse gas emissions by 80 percent by 2050.

“In light of these issues, I respectfully request that the Department of Justice review Maine’s climate and energy policies, including the NEB program, RGGI participation, emission reduction laws, renewable portfolio standards, and clean energy projects such as the King Pine Wind initiative and offshore wind development, to determine their compliance with federal law and the Constitution,” said Soboleski.

“Such a review would ensure that state-level actions do not conflict with the nation’s energy goals or impose unnecessary financial burdens on American families and businesses,” he added.

Thus far, Republican-led efforts to curtail or repeal the state’s radical climate laws have met with little success, but Soboleski and his fellow GOP legislators hope their letter will bring federal scrutiny that might lift some of the burdensome regulations imposed on Mainers and drive skyrocketing energy costs.

Soboleski’s letter was sent around the same time that the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) froze grant funding for three of the University of Maine’s offshore wind development projects.