Trump just effectively killed a popular solar energy program for rural America

New federal rules taking effect October 16 effectively end solar funding through the Rural Energy for America Program (REAP), a long-running USDA program that has helped farmers and rural small businesses pay for renewable energy systems. The rules bar funding for any solar or wind project on cropland that uses parts made in a "foreign adversary" country. Since most solar equipment includes components manufactured in China, this change blocks nearly all new solar projects from getting REAP money. A separate change also requires systems to be up and running for a full year before owners can apply for reimbursement, stretching out the timeline for getting paid back.

REAP has helped farmers and rural businesses install solar by covering some of the tens of thousands of dollars systems typically cost upfront. Those systems can lower utility bills and let owners sell extra power back to the grid, which supporters say has been especially useful as farming costs for fuel, fertilizer, and labor keep rising. The Trump administration has been scaling back REAP's solar funding since mid-2025, following an executive order calling wind and solar "unreliable" and saying taxpayers shouldn't subsidize them. The USDA says it wants to stop farmland from being used for solar instead of food production.

The Iowa Farmers Union and other groups sued the USDA in September, arguing the agency is violating the law that created REAP and ignoring the financial benefits farmers get from solar. If you live in a rural area and were counting on this program to help pay for a farm or small-business solar project, it's worth checking directly with USDA or your state's rural development office on current eligibility, since the rules have changed several times over the past year.