The USDA has announced it will delay opening the first quarterly grant application window for fiscal year (FY) 2026 Renewable Energy for America Program funding. The application period was scheduled to open July 1. The agency has cited both an application backlog and the need to disincentivize solar projects as reasons for the delay. 

REAP, originally established by the 2002 Farm Bill, provides guaranteed loan financing and grant funding to agricultural producers and rural small businesses to support the installation of renewable energy systems or to make energy efficiency improvements. Renewable biomass, including anaerobic digesters and biogas, wind, solar, small hydro-electric, ocean, geothermal, or hydrogen derived from any of those sources are among the renewable energy sources eligible for the program.

Since its inception, the project has supported the development of thousands of renewable energy and energy efficiency projects, including those located at ethanol plants, biodiesel plants, biogas facilities and pellet mills. 

The USDA in October 2024 announced deadlines for FY-2025-2027 REAP applications. The first of three quarterly FY 2026 application periods was set to open July 1 and close Sept. 30, 2025. 

The USDA on June 30 issued a stakeholder announcement indicating the agency would delay opening of the first FY 2026 application window. “All REAP grant applications regardless of funding source will not be accepted during this time,” the agency said in the announcement. “This decision was made due to the overwhelming response and continued popularity of the program resulting in a backlog of applicants. This decision will allow USDA time to dedicate the necessary resources and attention to the backlog of applications.” 

A notice posted to USDA’s REAP webpage specifies that any REAP grant or combined grant and loan applications submitted from July 1 through Sept. 30 will not be reviewed or processed, and the application will be returned. The notice also indicates guaranteed loan applications may be accepted and completed on an ongoing basis in accordance with applicable law. 

The USDA issued a subsequent stakeholder announcement on July 15 announcing the first grant application window for FY 2026 REAP funding will open on Oct. 1. In that announcement, the USDA said that the agency “is using the remaining time in FY25 to implement the Secretary’s direction to disincentivize solar panels on productive farmland for future application windows.” 

The July 15 announcement’s language on solar panels is in reference to USDA’s “Farmers First: Small Family Farms Policy Agenda,” which was released May 19. Within that document, the USDA said it would disincentivize the use of REAP funding for solar panels on productive farmland using prioritization points and regulatory action. “Farmland should be for agricultural production, not solar production,” the agency said. “We call on state and local governments to work alongside USDA on local solutions.”

The USDA’s recent administration of the REAP program has been troubled. President Donald Trump on Jan. 20 issued an executive order freezing disbursement of funds appropriated by the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022. A portion of the impacted funding had been allocated to REAP. The USDA in March announced it would begin releasing previously obligated REAP funding, but would require applicants to remove “harmful DEIA” and “far-left climate features” from project proposals. The delays resulting from these policy decisions have eroded applicant trust in REAP and similar programs, as farmers and other small business applicants have been negatively impacted by delayed reimbursements for previously approved projects.