Rural energy grant application process abruptly halted by USDA
In rural America, the Rural Energy for America Program (REAP) has been a vital source of funding for solar, wind, and energy-efficiency projects for over two decades. However, the program has faced several setbacks under the Trump administration, leading to uncertainty for thousands of farmers nationwide.
President Donald Trump's Day 1 executive order froze over $911 million in REAP funds. This freeze, coupled with delayed application processing and the closure of the July 1 application window, has caused concern among farmers who rely on REAP for their energy needs.
Bruce Everly, who has been helping Indiana farmers apply for REAP funding for over two decades, shares this concern. His company, EIM LLC, had seven people working full time on REAP applications over the past three months in anticipation of the July 1 application window. Despite their efforts, the application period was cancelled, leaving them in limbo.
Everly's firm has a 92% success rate in applications, but the wait for payment is causing uncertainty for the 3,000 hours of staff time spent on this latest round of applications. The USDA anticipates accepting applications again starting Oct. 1, but the slowdown in funding has forced farmers to spend more money to meet their energy needs.
The 2022 Inflation Reduction Act infused REAP with over $2 billion, but these funds will soon run out, likely reverting the program to a funding level of $50 million per year. Between fiscal year 2023 and the first quarter of fiscal year 2025, over $1 billion in IRA REAP funding was awarded in over 6,800 grants to farmers and rural small businesses, with 80% of the grants going to Republican House districts.
Congress allocated IRA funds for REAP applications through 2031, though the funding will likely run out long before then. Federal data shows that about half of IRA REAP funds have already been obligated. The USDA obligated money for just over 1,900 grant and loan guarantees between the start of this fiscal year and July 9, a significant decrease from the same period last year.
The administration's Make Agriculture Great Again agenda plans to disincentivize funding for solar panels on productive farmland, which could further impact the program. No specific names of politicians or organizations actively advocating for the reopening of the REAP application period from July 2026 are mentioned in the provided search results.
Lloyd Ritter, a clean-energy policy consultant, stated that an increase in REAP funding like that provided by the IRA is not expected soon. Thousands of American farmers use REAP nationwide, and a slowdown in funding would force them to seek alternative, potentially more expensive, energy solutions.
Despite these challenges, Everly remains hopeful. "We've been helping farmers for over two decades, and we'll continue to do so," he said. "We just need a little patience and understanding during these difficult times."
