Repealing Tech-Neutral Tax Credits Will Raise Energy Costs for Farmers, Harming Reliability and Affordability in Rural America

RMI analysis indicates that repealing tech-neutral clean electricity tax credits, such as the Investment Tax Credit (ITC) and Production Tax Credit (PTC), would significantly raise electricity costs for American farmers and rural electric cooperatives. For a mid-sized dairy farm, annual costs could increase by $10,000 in 2026, while Wisconsin’s Dairyland Power Cooperative could see project costs more than double, increasing annual costs by $137 million. These credits are described as essential for reducing operating costs, diversifying income, and improving grid resilience in rural areas, which already face a 33 percent higher energy burden than the rest of the nation.

• The repeal of tech-neutral clean electricity tax credits would lead to significant cost increases for agricultural operations; specifically, a mid-sized dairy farm could experience a $10,000 rise in annual electricity costs by 2026.
• For rural electric cooperatives, the loss of these credits would derail investments in grid reliability and affordability. In the case of Wisconsin’s Dairyland Power Cooperative, the cost of its planned wind, solar, and storage portfolio would more than double, resulting in an annual cost increase of $137 million.
• The Investment Tax Credit (ITC) is critical for farmers to afford on-farm solar installations, which can reduce electricity bills by up to 70 percent, providing a hedge against volatile energy inputs and power interruptions.
• Rural America suffers from a 33 percent higher energy burden compared to the rest of the United States, making tax credits essential for economic development and the operation of the more than 900 electric cooperatives serving 42 million people.
• Abruptly ending tax credits like the ITC (48E) and PTC (45Y) undermines investor confidence and policy predictability, potentially leading to the cancellation of multi-year clean energy and battery storage projects before they begin.

APA

RMI (2025). Repealing Tech-Neutral Tax Credits Will Raise Energy Costs for Farmers, Harming Reliability and Affordability in Rural America. https://rmi.org/resources/energy-tax-credits-agricultural-impact/

Chicago

RMI. Repealing Tech-Neutral Tax Credits Will Raise Energy Costs for Farmers, Harming Reliability and Affordability in Rural America. 2025. https://rmi.org/resources/energy-tax-credits-agricultural-impact/.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=RMI |title=Repealing Tech-Neutral Tax Credits Will Raise Energy Costs for Farmers, Harming Reliability and Affordability in Rural America |date=18 June 2025 |url=https://rmi.org/resources/energy-tax-credits-agricultural-impact/ |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{rmi2025repealing, author = {{RMI}}, title = {{Repealing Tech-Neutral Tax Credits Will Raise Energy Costs for Farmers, Harming Reliability and Affordability in Rural America}}, institution = {RMI}, year = {2025}, month = jun, url = {https://rmi.org/resources/energy-tax-credits-agricultural-impact/}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }