At least 126 solar projects proposed near agricultural land are awaiting regulatory approval, representing about 20 gigawatts of potential electricity generation. The policy reversals have forced some developers to abandon millions in investments, while others race to complete construction before tax credits expire.
The Trump administration has effectively halted two federal programs that helped American farmers pursue renewable energy, leaving hundreds of projects stalled and forcing farmers to abandon or defer plans to cut electricity costs through solar installations.
Within the first year of President Donald Trump’s second term, the Rural Energy for America Program—which has distributed over $1.8 billion in grants since its inception nearly two decades ago—has stopped awarding grants. Simultaneously, the federal clean energy tax credit has been restructured with tighter deadlines that solar developers say make it nearly impossible to meet their construction schedules.
“For me, it’s just been about freedom. Freedom to lower bills, freedom to control my own assets,” said Daniel Bell, a Kentucky sheep farmer who had planned to install rooftop solar on his property to heat a new barn. When the Trump administration halted REAP grants, Bell negotiated with a commercial solar operation to construct temporary barns on their property where he can graze his sheep beneath solar panels in exchange for cheaper power.
The Programs Under Pressure
The Rural Energy for America Program issued grants and loans to farmers, ranchers, and rural businesses interested in renewable energy installation. Since its inception nearly two decades ago, REAP distributed over $1.8 billion across more than 19,000 grants, according to Richa Patel, a policy specialist at the National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition. The program was significantly expanded by funding from the Inflation Reduction Act in 2022.
But a U.S. Department of Agriculture analysis found that the agency has not awarded a dollar in rural renewable energy grants or loans this fiscal year. On March 31, the USDA announced a suspension of all REAP grant awards as it updates regulations to comply with a Trump administration executive order. The agency said it “will not be making further grant awards until the new regulations are in effect.”
The clean energy tax credit, a 30% deduction for large-scale solar projects, has existed since the Energy Policy Act of 2005 and has been renewed across multiple administrations. Under President Joe Biden’s 2022 climate bill, it was extended through 2032. But when Congress passed Trump’s tax bill last July, the timeline was restructured. Now commercial solar projects must be under construction by July 2026 or placed in service by the end of 2027 to remain eligible for the tax credit.
The Stalled Pipeline
The new deadline triggered a cascade of project abandonments. An analysis by Grist and the Associated Press of data from the Energy Information Administration found at least 126 solar projects proposed since the beginning of 2024 are awaiting regulatory approval near agricultural land. Each project sits on or beside agricultural property with at least one-fifth of the surrounding area used for grazing or crops. Together, the projects would supply about 20 gigawatts of electricity if built—enough renewable energy to power about 4.5 million homes, according to the Solar Energy Industries Association.
Bogdan Micu, CEO of the German solar developer Alpin Sun, said his company abandoned projects representing about $6 million in investments covering roughly 1,000 megawatts in the U.S. Northeast. “Well. We lost our projects,” Micu said.
Farmers Bearing the Cost
Individual farmers are paying a steep price for the policy shift. Elisa Lane, a flower and fruit farmer in Hampstead, Maryland, was awarded a $30,576 REAP grant in 2024 to install solar panels. When the Trump administration froze the program in February 2025, the grant was suspended without explanation.
“Man, was that so stressful,” Lane said. She had already contracted with a solar company to install the panels and worried she would be “on the hook” for the full cost. Her monthly energy bills had run around $500 before pursuing solar.
In March 2025, the USDA invited grant recipients to voluntarily revise their proposals to align with Trump’s executive order by “eliminating Biden-era DEIA and climate mandates embedded in previous proposals.” Lane decided not to revise her proposal after a local USDA representative advised her to do so, assuring her she would receive payment. That spring, the USDA said the payment would be released. By August, her panels were installed. By September, she received her reimbursement check covering about half the $70,000 project cost—more than half a year after the funding was first frozen.
“It was so disruptive,” Lane said. “I just want to have a farm and be able to focus on my business.”
A Mixed Landscape Ahead
The effects of the policy shifts are uneven across rural America. Tim Covert, a former dairy farmer in Sheridan, New York, has a community solar project proposed on his land that could eventually provide roughly a quarter of his income as an electrical contractor. Covert was treated for cancer last year and has struggled to work. “I’m 100% cancer-free, but with the treatments, there’s some side effects that take a little while to get rid of,” he said. He hopes the solar lease will provide stability while he recovers.
The construction timeline for Covert’s project remains uncertain. RIC Energy, the developer, told Grist and the AP that construction is slated to begin late summer to early fall, though Covert has heard the timeline is “changing a lot.”
Some larger solar developers are racing to complete projects before the tax credit deadline. Others have concluded they cannot move fast enough and are abandoning investments. Nick Cohen, CEO of Doral LLC, a large-scale solar developer with about 450 megawatts in operation, said that the loss of the tax credit paradoxically created an advantage for established players like his firm.
“It’s a very exciting time if you’re a large enough developer that was in the right place at the right time doing large projects,” Cohen said. “All the new rules really favor the big guys like us.”
The Broader Consequence
Robert Bonnie, who served as USDA undersecretary for farm production and conservation under the Biden administration, said any loss in REAP’s funding will reverberate across rural America.
“In places like Iowa and Texas, renewables matter, not just for additional power and lower power bills and clean energy, but also for farmers’ pocketbooks,” Bonnie said. “Anything you do to pull back on that is hugely problematic.”
Despite the policy reversals, solar remains among the cheapest forms of energy production. Demand for electricity is rising, partly driven by artificial intelligence data center construction. But without federal support and with tightened tax credit deadlines, rural farmers and smaller renewable energy developers face substantially steeper obstacles to bringing solar projects to completion.
For Daniel Bell and other farmers like him, the path forward remains uncertain. The renewable energy infrastructure that promised to cut costs and increase independence has become a moving target—one that may be out of reach for those without the capital or commercial partnerships to pursue alternative arrangements.