The US Department of Agriculture (USDA) has announced it will stop funding solar panels on productive farmland and bar the use of foreign-made panels in its projects. Officials said the move aims to preserve farmland access, which they claim has become more expensive and less available to farmers because of subsidized solar farms.
To access loans under the Rural Energy for America Program (REAP), farmers and ranchers will be able to apply only for ‘right-sized’ units for their own consumption. Applications for ground-mounted system sizes larger than 50 kW that are not accompanied by proof of historical energy use will not be entertained.
Under REAP, the US government provides guaranteed loan financing of up to 75% of total project costs, and grant funding of up to 50% to agricultural producers and rural small businesses for renewable energy systems or to make energy efficiency improvements. Between 2018 and 2022, USDA shelled out over $2 billion in REAP investments, according to its website.
The program received a shot in the arm with $145 million in funding for 700 loan and grant awards under the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA).
Additionally, wind and solar projects will now not be eligible for USDA’s Rural Development Business and Industry (B&I) Guaranteed Loan Program.
“It has been disheartening to see our beautiful farmland displaced by solar projects, especially in rural areas that have strong agricultural heritage,” said Rollins. “We are no longer allowing businesses to use your taxpayer dollars to fund solar projects on prime American farmland, and we will no longer allow solar panels manufactured by foreign adversaries to be used in our USDA-funded projects.”
Georgia Representative Austin Scott added, “There is no such thing as a solar farm. It is a waste of one of our most precious resources, our land. The extortion of the American taxpayers through solar subsidies, and the destruction of our farm and forest resources, has gone on for far too long.”
The agency did not specify if this decision impacts the fate of previously awarded REAP loans and grants. Recently, the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) Administrator Lee Zeldin announced the termination of $7 billion solar energy grants under the Solar for All program for low-income families on his X account.
USDA said that the action builds upon the repeal of and modifications to wind, solar, and other green energy tax credits in the One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA).
The current US administration has already announced an end to ‘preferential treatment’ of wind and solar energy projects on public land, instead ordering elevated review of such projects by the Office of the Secretary at the Department of the Interior (see Elevated US Federal Scrutiny For Wind & Solar Energy Projects).
TaiyangNews will explore the US solar market in view of the regulatory shifts at the upcoming RE+ 2025 event in Las Vegas, US. It is co-organizing the 2025 Solar Made in USA summit in collaboration with RE+ and EUPD Research. To be held on September 8, 2025, it will feature leading names from the world of solar to discuss the future of US solar and storage manufacturing and future strategies for the players in light of the regulatory hurdles created by the OBBBA. Registrations are open and can be done here.
