This coverage is made possible through a partnership between Grist, BPR, a public radio station serving western North Carolina, WABE, Atlanta’s NPR station, WBEZ, a public radio station serving the Chicago metropolitan region, and Interlochen Public Radio in Northern Michigan.
Editor’s note: On March 25, the USDA announced the release of Inflation Reduction Act funds for several rural energy programs, including REAP. The USDA has given grant recipients 30 days to revise their plans to ensure their projects line up with Trump administration energy priorities.
The Trump administration’s freeze on funding from the Inflation Reduction Act, or IRA, the landmark climate law from the Biden era, has left farmers and rural businesses across the country on the hook for costly energy efficiency upgrades and renewable energy installations.
The grants are part of the Rural Energy for America Program, or REAP, originally created in the 2008 farm bill and supercharged by funding from the IRA. It provides farmers and other businesses in r... Read more
