“Farmers in Maine and across the country have embraced REAP because it delivers,” Rep. Chellie Pingree (D-Maine) said in an email to Civil Eats. “Blocking them from installing solar panels or small wind projects means higher operating costs, fewer opportunities to reinvest in their land, and less resilience against climate-driven disruptions.”

Projects will no longer be eligible for REAP loans if applications include plans for ground-mounted solar systems larger than 50 kilowatt-hour, or those that cannot document historical energy usage, according to the agency. Wind and solar projects will also no longer be eligible for the USDA Rural Development Business and Industry Guaranteed Loan Program, whose loans go to lenders that then support farms and rural businesses.

“Farms and rural businesses have a large variety of sizes and operations, and you can’t help but think that having such an arbitrary limitation can hurt farmers who could benefit from cost savings with more flexibility,” said Richa Patel, a climate policy specialist for the National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition.

Patel said she is concerned the announcement will increase the number of farmers who believe applying for REAP funding is “not worth it.” The Trump administration has already tightened REAP funding requirements and delayed the most recent REAP application cycle.

Nearly 20,000 farmers and small rural businesses have received REAP awards since the program’s creation in 2008, helping them produce their own energy or improve energy efficiency within their business, said Samantha Levy, a senior policy manager at American Farmland Trust. The group is focused on preserving farmers and land through conservation practices, and by incorporating solar arrays into operations. This farming method, also known as agrivoltaics, can be a way to reduce energy cost risks and diversify revenue streams. (Link to this post.)