Policy Shift Under Trump Administration
The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) will no longer fund solar and wind projects on productive farmland, Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins announced Monday in a post on X. The decision reflects the Trump administration’s ongoing effort to curtail renewable energy development, which the president has criticized as unreliable, costly, and reliant on Chinese supply chains.
“Millions of acres of prime farmland is left unusable so Green New Deal subsidized solar panels can be built. This destruction of our farms and prime soil is taking away the futures of the next generation of farmers and the future of our country,” Rollins wrote.
Impact on Renewable Energy Programs
The USDA has provided more than $2 billion in funding for renewable energy initiatives through its Rural Energy for America Program, supporting projects that help rural electric cooperatives and farmers transition to clean power. The agency’s reversal marks a significant policy departure from recent years.
A 2024 USDA study showed that about 424,000 acres of rural land—less than 0.05% of the nearly 900 million acres of U.S. farmland—were affected by wind and solar projects as of 2020. Most of that land continued to be used for agriculture alongside renewable installations, countering concerns about large-scale displacement.
Contrast With Previous Administration
The Biden administration had expanded support for renewable energy on farmland as part of its broader climate strategy, aiming to reduce emissions and lower the cost of clean energy in rural communities. The new USDA policy underscores a stark shift in approach, with the Trump administration prioritizing agricultural preservation over renewable expansion.
The USDA has not yet issued further details on how existing projects will be impacted, nor has it responded to requests for additional comment.
