US Edition
USDA limits funding for solar, wind on farmland
USDA Secretary Brooke Rollins cited farmland loss and affordability concerns, ending subsidies despite previous $4 billion funding for renewable projects supporting rural communities.
- On August 18 at the Wilson County Tennessee State Fair, USDA Secretary Brooke Rollins announced the elimination of all USDA programs subsidizing solar panels on productive farmland.
- Rollins said previous government policies promoted farmland destruction to support solar projects, which raised barriers for new and young farmers seeking land access.
- In Middle Tennessee, farmland is increasingly lost to development near cities and infrastructure, and local commissioners recently voted down land use and rezone requests to protect farmland.
- Rollins announced an investment of $90 million in a dozen rural development initiatives across Tennessee and highlighted that subsidized solar installations have rendered vast areas of valuable farmland unsuitable for agricultural use.
- The USDA ban on funding solar and wind on productive farmland, effective immediately, aims to preserve food-producing land, support farmers, and reduce reliance on panels from foreign adversaries like China.
71 Articles
71 Articles
USDA halts renewable energy aid to farms, citing land use concerns
The U.S. Department of Agriculture will no longer fund wind or solar energy on farmland, reversing a key rural clean energy program and redirecting support toward biofuels.Georgina Gustin reports for Inside Climate News.In short:Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins announced that the USDA will end funding for wind and solar projects through major rural loan programs, citing the need to protect prime farmland and reduce dependence on Chinese-made…
Tennessee Has Lost More Than 1.2 Million Acres Of Farmland In Last 30 Years; USDA Will No Longer Use Taxpayer Dollars For Large-Scale Solar Projects
Image Credit: U.S. Department of Energy The Center Square [By By Thérèse Boudreaux] – The U.S. Department of Agriculture will no longer subsidize large-scale solar projects placed on farmland or use solar panels manufactured by foreign adversaries in any agency projects, according to a news release Tuesday. Hundreds of billions of taxpayer dollars have gone towards solar and other “green” energy initiatives since 2022 alone. Roughly 47% of utili…
Trump’s Latest Anti-Solar Move Runs Into a Popular Farmer Program
The Trump administration announced Tuesday that it was trying to protect American farmland from solar development by putting new restrictions on a popular rural energy program. Those changes are unlikely to stem losses to U.S. farmland, and they could hurt existing farm businesses that are barely staying afloat by restricting their ability to save on costs, experts warned. The Department of Agriculture Rural Energy for America Program will no lo…
The US Department of Agriculture Bans Support for Renewables, a Lifeline for Farmers - Inside Climate News
The agency said it’s concerned that farmland is being consumed by wind and solar facilities—which occupy a tiny fraction of the country’s productive acres.By Georgina GustinThe U.S. Department of Agriculture announced this week that it will stop funding wind and solar energy on American farmland, a move that continues the Trump administration’s attempts to kill incentives for renewables while it boosts support for fossil fuels and land-hungry, e…
USDA ends programs for solar, wind projects on farms
The U.S. Department of Agriculture will no longer support solar and wind projects on productive farmland, U.S. Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins said on X. President Donald Trump has referred to wind and solar energy as unreliable, expensive and dependent on…
InsideNoVA.com
USDA reverses use of taxpayer dollars to fund solar panels on farmland
(The Center Square) – The U.S. Department of Agriculture will no longer subsidize large-scale solar projects placed on farmland or use solar panels manufactured by foreign adversaries in any agency projects, according to a news release Tuesday.
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