Trump guts ‘win-win’ solar energy program for rural farmers

The U.S. Department of Agriculture has rendered virtually all solar power development ineligible for finding through the Rural Energy for America Program. Previously, REAP provided funding for farmers to place solar panels on their land, lowering power bills and giving rural farmers the opportunity to sell excess energy to the grid. 

Frida Garza writes for Grist:

Research shows investing in renewable energy can also be an economic driver in rural parts of the country. “All of these things lined up,” said Matt Russell, the executive director of the Iowa Farmers Union, an independent organization representing family farmers. So for the Trump administration to “shift away from those kinds of win-win-win investments is very disappointing,” he added.

Prior to the Trump administration’s new changes to REAP, the Iowa Farmers Union had already filed a lawsuit against the USDA claiming that previous changes to the program harmed farmers by severely restricting their access to REAP. The Trump administration has previously said it would not subsidize “unreliable” energy like solar and that farmland should be used to grow food rather than generate energy.