Trump order freezes outstanding Agriculture Department grants in Lancaster County

• By Jaxon White/LNP | LancasterOnline

 

Brett Nolt said he’s invested between $600,000 and $1 million to install four acres of solar panels at his property in Pottsville.

He did so expecting the U.S. Department of Agriculture to reimburse him $550,000 when he’s finished, as agreed in a contract through the Rural Energy for America Program.

But Nolt, founder of Twilight Renewables in Manheim, could see his payments delayed if the Trump administration’s federal funding freeze remains in place.

He isn’t alone.

Nolt said at least four of his solar clients – farmers around Lancaster County – have had their Rural Energy for America Program payments paused since Trump signed the order on his first day in office, despite his administration claiming the order would not impact individual grant recipients.

“There are hundreds, if not thousands, of these awardees,” Nolt said. “To basically void the USDA contract is just a blatant breach of contract. You can go after that (in court).”

Grantees must cover the upfront costs for projects backed by the Rural Energy for America Program, which covers up to half the price that farmers and small businesses spend on renewable energy projects and energy efficiency improvements. Recipients are reimbursed for their grant amount once the project is finished.

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Nolt, of Lititz, said he has already received the full $443,000 grant he was promised for a separate solar project he completed last year at Shelmar Acres in Mount Joy.

Payments for the project in Pottsville — expected to produce enough energy to power some 60 homes, according to the USDA — wouldn’t be impacted unless the pause remains in place until construction is finished sometime this spring.

“The longer this freeze lasts, the more people will be impacted,” Nolt said.

More than $2 million in grants from the Rural Energy for America Program were awarded to projects in Lancaster County last year, according to three documents published by the Agriculture Department. In Pennsylvania during the same time period, the total was more than $14 million.

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READ: $1 million in federal solar grants for Lancaster County farms and businesses

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The recipients most immediately impacted by the grant freeze, Nolt said, are those who completed projects just before Trump issued his order, and are having their reimbursements delayed while it is in effect.

The original Trump memo, issued by the Office of Management and Budget, said the funding pause would target “Marxist equity, transgenderism, and green new deal social engineering policies.”

The administration said it had rescinded the freeze after federal Judge John J. McConnell of Rhode Island temporarily blocked it in court on Jan. 31, saying the action was not within the president’s authority.

McConnell ruled Monday the administration had violated his order and proceeded to pause some federal funding. On Tuesday, a federal appeals court also rejected the Justice Department’s attempt to reverse the lower court’s ruling.

A USDA spokesperson wrote in a statement Tuesday that the “USDA is reviewing rural energy provisions to ensure they comply under the Trump Administration Executive Orders.”

The spokesperson did not elaborate.

Nolt hasn’t contacted U.S. Rep. Lloyd Smucker or Sens. John Fetterman and Dave McCormick because he’s confident Trump will soon end the freeze.

“It affects farmers – red farmers mostly,” Nolt said. “And I know it’s not going to stand.”

He added, “Once the dust settles, the obligation is still there.”