Eligibility & requirements. REAP serves agricultural producers (individuals or entities deriving at least 50% of gross income from agricultural production) and rural small businesses meeting SBA size standards. Rural small business projects must be located in eligible rural areas — outside cities or towns of more than 50,000 inhabitants and their contiguous urbanized areas. Eligible projects include renewable energy systems (solar, wind, biomass, small hydro, geothermal, ocean) and energy efficiency improvements to facilities or buildings. Technology must be commercially available and technically feasible.
What you get. The program provides competitive grants and guaranteed loans for purchasing and installing renewable energy systems or making energy efficiency improvements. Exact grant and loan levels are set in each Notice of Funding Opportunity.
Deadlines. No current application window is open for grants. Per the USDA Rural Business Cooperative Service stakeholder announcement of March 31, 2026, REAP "will not be making further grant awards until the new regulations are in effect" (regulations at 7 CFR 4280 Subpart B are being updated). A new Notice of Funding Opportunity will be published once the new regulations take effect, and prior applicants without a fully executed Financial Assistance Agreement will have the opportunity to reapply.
How it works. When funding windows open, applicants submit proposals through USDA Rural Development state offices. REAP Guaranteed Loans continue to be awarded during the grant pause, so loan applicants can still proceed.
Important notes. This is primarily a farm and rural-business program — it is not open to typical suburban or urban homeowners. The March 2026 announcement is the controlling current status: expect grant applications to reopen only after the new regulations and funding notice are published. Check the program website and FAQs for updates.
Program details change — verify current rules on the official program page before applying.