Trump administration rule effectively shuts solar out of a popular rural energy grant program
Farm groups and environmental lawyers say the changes defy Congress, while the Agriculture Department says farmland should be used to grow food.
New rules from the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) that took effect Friday effectively make solar projects ineligible for the Rural Energy for America Program (REAP), which has helped farmers and rural small businesses pay for renewable energy, Frida Garza reported in Grist.
Under the final rule, published Oct. 1, solar or wind projects on cropland are ineligible if "any component" comes from a country the government lists as a foreign adversary, a high bar since many solar parts are made in China. Applicants must also run their systems for a year before they can be reimbursed.
Solar arrays can cost farmers tens of thousands of dollars up front but lower utility bills and let them sell excess power, a cushion as fertilizer, fuel, labor and seed costs rise. Congress created the program in the 2008 farm bill.
"It's like stacking the deck against family farms," said Matt Russell, executive director of the Iowa Farmers Union, which sued the department Sept. 28 along with Earthjustice and the Environmental Law and Policy Center over earlier changes to the program.
The agency "has decided to completely ignore what Congress told them to do," said Michael Youhana, an Earthjustice attorney.
The USDA did not respond to Grist's request for comment. A department representative told Utility Dive that the agency "will not actively participate in repurposing farmland historically used to sustain this country's abundant food supply."
This brief is based on an article published Oct. 16, 2026, by Frida Garza in Grist. Read the original: https://grist.org/food-and-agriculture/solar-panels-farms-trump-reap-rural-energy-for-america-program-changes/
This article was produced with the assistance of AI tools and reviewed by an editor before publication.
