daily · Climate Policy

USDA moves REAP to a post-completion model: projects must be built and running before applying

A USDA final rule with comment period published in the Federal Register on October 1, 2026 changes the Rural Energy for America Program so projects must be fully built and operating before application, with awards based on 12 months of actual performance data. It takes effect October 16, and comments are due November 2.

By Greener Numbers Editorial Team · Published October 3, 2026 · Updated 10/3/2026

The U.S. Department of Agriculture's Rural Business-Cooperative Service published a final rule with comment period in the Federal Register on October 1, 2026 that restructures the Rural Energy for America Program, known as REAP (7 CFR Part 4280, Docket RBS-26-Business-0529).

Under the new structure, projects must already be fully built and operational before the applicant applies. Applicants submit actual energy production or savings data for the prior 12 months, along with 12 months of pre-installation data. USDA says the program becomes a post-completion, performance-validated model, and that all renewable energy system and energy efficiency improvement awards will be based on actual documented output, energy savings, costs and system performance.

The rule makes multi-location projects and certain technology applications ineligible, limits applicants to one application per funding cycle, and caps energy storage systems at 120 percent of the applicant's average energy use for the 12 months before installation. USDA also says the program proposes to eliminate state-level competitions in favor of a single national scoring and selection process, and that it removed technical merit review bottlenecks that had caused processing backlogs.

The rule takes effect October 16, 2026. Comments must be submitted by November 2, 2026 through regulations.gov using the docket number or RIN 0570-AB13. Awards remain subject to the availability of funds and criteria in an annual notice.

This brief summarizes the rule's summary and selected provisions from the Federal Register text; it does not cover every provision, and it does not state grant percentage changes, which were not confirmed in the text read.

Official source: federalregister.gov ↗