Starting Today, Farm Energy Grants Can't Buy Chinese Solar Parts or Pave Over Cropland. USDA Got the Priorities Right
A USDA rule taking effect Oct. 16 bars Rural Energy for America Program grants for solar and wind on certified cropland and for any system with a component from a foreign adversary. In our view, taxpayers should not underwrite Beijing's supply chain on American farmland, but USDA must keep the program usable for small farms.
By Clara Hughes
ALTAS WORLD NEWS OPINION | By Clara Hughes, Chief Opinion Editor | October 16, 2026 | 6-min read For years, American taxpayers helped pay for solar panels on American farms, while most of the world's solar manufacturing capacity sat in one country: China [1]. As of today, one of Washington's best-known farm energy programs stops paying for adversary-made parts. A U.S. Department of Agriculture rule that takes effect Oct. 16 says Rural Energy for America Program grants may no longer go to solar or wind systems "consisting of any component made in a country named as a foreign adversary," and may no longer fund ground-mounted solar or wind on certified cropland [2]. In our view, those are the right priorities: farmland for food, and federal dollars for American supply chains. Key Takeaways USDA's final rule on the Rural Energy for America Program (REAP), published Oct. 1, is effective Oct. 16; public comments are open until Nov. 2 [2]. Ground-mounted solar and wind turbines on certified cropland are no longer eligible, and neither are solar or wind systems, roof or ground, with any component from a foreign adversary [2]. The foreign-adversary list in federal regulations names China, Cuba, Iran, North Korea, Russia and Venezuela's Maduro regime [3]. Applicants must now identify the