Overview
- A formal USDA update emphasizes heightened scrutiny and a move away from larger facilities, tempering a broader no-funding claim made by Secretary Brooke Rollins on X.
- Wind and solar projects are now excluded from the USDA Rural Development Business and Industry Guaranteed Loan Program.
- REAP eligibility is tightened to ground-mounted systems at 50 kW or less or those with documented historical energy use, leaving the status of already-approved awards unclear.
- USDA-funded projects cannot use solar panels made by designated foreign adversaries, with officials explicitly citing China.
- Contractors and some farmers report disrupted plans and potential cost impacts, while a 2024 USDA study found wind and solar occupy under 0.05% of U.S. farmland and often coexist with agriculture.