In a new twist on federal support for rural areas, the Rural Business Cooperative Service within the USDA has issued a final rule in the Federal Register that the Rural Energy for America Program (REAP) will now only compensate projects already “fully built and operational before the applicant ever applies. Applicants then apply, submitting actual energy production or savings data for the prior 12 months, alongside 12 months of pre-installation data.”
REAP traditionally has provided financing in the forms of loans and grants to agricultural producers and rural small businesses for renewable energy systems or to make energy efficiency improvements. In the past, agricultural producers also could apply for new energy efficient equipment and new system loans for agricultural production and processing.
Critics say this is a way to meet the language of the law but also follow the administration’s goals of limiting federal support for growing the renewable energy industry in this country at a time when the nation’s electricity needs are growing rapidly because of AI.