USDA Allocates $375 Million for Rural Agricultural Microgrids and Biogas Digesters

WASHINGTON — Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack announced on Monday the distribution of $375 million in federal clean energy grants and loan guarantees under the Rural Energy for America Program (REAP) to construct 120 commercial-scale anaerobic manure biogas digesters and install 480 agrivoltaic solar-plus-storage microgrids across family-owned dairy, swine, and grain farms in twenty-two states.

The capital investments allow agricultural producers to capture methane emissions from livestock manure lagoons, processing raw biogas into pipeline-quality renewable natural gas (RNG) and clean electricity, creating substantial new non-crop revenue streams for rural producers while lowering operational energy costs.

Transforming Agricultural Waste into Renewable Energy Assets Agricultural livestock operations produce millions of tons of organic waste annually that release potent methane into the atmosphere. On-farm anaerobic digestion captures over 90 percent of fugitive methane while producing nutrient-rich organic fertilizer that displaces synthetic chemical inputs.

"American agriculture is on the frontlines of climate change, and our family farmers have the ingenuity and drive to lead the clean energy transition," Secretary Tom Vilsack said during an announcement at a family dairy farm in Iowa. "This $375 million investment empowers 600 family farms to turn agricultural waste into clean energy, lowering their utility bills, diversifying their farm income, and strengthening energy security in rural communities across America."

Rural Energy Allocations Key state distributions include:

• Iowa, Wisconsin & Minnesota: $95 million for dairy farm anaerobic digester clusters and pipeline injection manifolds.
• North Carolina & Georgia: $70 million for poultry litter biomass energy conversion and solar hatchery backups.
• California & Idaho: $65 million for Central Valley dairy methane digesters paired with electric milk-truck charging stations.
• Texas & Kansas: $55 million for feedlot biogas capture and solar irrigation well pumps.
• Fourteen additional states receiving between $6 million and $18 million.

Farm bureau presidents, rural electrical cooperatives, and clean tech developers praised the USDA investment, noting that farm-based renewable energy creates durable, drought-resilient revenues for multi-generational farm families.