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A hopeful outlook for USDA REAP grants

Some Ohio farmers are looking at solar energy to cut costs and boost sustainability.

Emily Bails with the Sustainable Ohio Public Energy Council says more farmers are showing interest in solar energy.

“A lot of people are seeing that with grants and other incentives like tax credits, that there’s a lot of funding that can go into these solar projects,” she says. “They definitely help with reducing electricity costs.”

She tells Brownfield there are funding opportunities to help producers get started. One of those is the USDA’s Rural Energy Development Programs (REAP) grant.

“There are a lot of times you can stack that with incentives, so we’re helping people get the best score they can for the REAP grant,” she says. “It can get all the way up to covering 90% of project costs.”

Bails says although the program is currently being impacted by frozen Inflation Reduction Act funds, they are hopeful farmers will still see the benefit later this year.

Brownfield interviewed Bails at the 2025 Ohio Ecological Food and Farm Association Conference.

AUDIO: Emily Bails, Sustainable Ohio Public Energy Council