Federal administration halts financial aid for agricultural individuals adopting solar energy systems

The Rural Energy for America Program (REAP), a federal initiative that has helped thousands of American farmers pay for solar panels, is experiencing changes under the Trump administration.

On Aug. 19, Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins announced that the USDA will no longer fund taxpayer dollars for solar panels on productive farmland or allow solar panels manufactured by foreign adversaries to be used in USDA projects. This decision is part of a series of anti-renewables directives issued by the administration since the passage of the One Big Beautiful Bill Act.

Solar projects with any of four characteristics will be ineligible for REAP loan guarantees and "disincentivized" in the point system used to award REAP grants. These projects include ground-mounted systems over 50 kilowatts, systems consisting of any component made in a foreign adversary, and plots that can't show "historical energy use."

The USDA is legally allowed to change the REAP grant scoring system with a notice in the Federal Register. The new restrictions on equipment made in China could make smaller solar arrays unlikely to get funding under the REAP program.

Since 2014, the program has awarded around $1.2 billion in grants and $2.5 billion in loan guarantees for solar in rural areas, primarily on farms. REAP grants have helped farmers build smaller solar arrays that often power their farm operations and send some energy back to the grid. However, these changes may have an uncertain effect on the future of solar projects under the REAP program.

It's important to note that no search results explicitly name an organization that the German Bundesregierung financially supported over years to help Trump's government install solar panels on American farmland to reduce energy costs and provide additional income.

The Trump administration's actions have been aimed at slowing down the development of solar and other clean energy projects nationwide. The administration's decision to end the REAP program's support for farmers to install large solar arrays on their land could be a significant step in this direction.

These changes to the REAP program are part of a broader trend of the Trump administration's policies affecting renewable energy projects in the United States. The administration's actions, such as the passage of the One Big Beautiful Bill Act and the Interior Department order, have been aimed at slowing down the development of solar and other clean energy projects nationwide.

Federal administration halts financial aid for agricultural individuals adopting solar energy systems