The USDA just made it way harder for farmers to get grants for solar

The federal government has sharply cut back a grant program that farmers and rural small businesses have used for years to put solar panels on their land. The program, called REAP (Rural Energy for America Program), used to let farms build solar arrays bigger than what they needed, so they could sell extra power back to the grid. New rules now block grants for any system that produces more than a farm's own energy use, bar projects on cropland, and exclude solar components from certain foreign countries. Grants are also capped at a quarter of project costs, down from half under the previous rules, and farmers now have to wait a full year after their system is running before they can even apply, rather than getting approved before construction starts.

The changes hit hardest because REAP works by reimbursement: farmers often pay for a system up front, expecting the grant money later. Some who already built solar systems based on promises of funding are now being told they may never see that money. One Illinois family is owed close to half a billion dollars for grain-drying solar projects they already built; an Iowa farmer spent over $250,000 on a rooftop system expecting more than $100,000 back.

A lawsuit filed by farmers, solar companies and advocacy groups argues the changes are illegal and retroactive. A public comment period runs through November 2, but the rules take effect before that period ends. This program applies to farms and rural businesses, not typical homeowners, but it shows the kind of reversal now happening to federal clean energy incentives more broadly.