REAP Timeline

*** If you are looking for a status update for a REAP application you’ve submitted but haven’t heard USDA’s response on, please read the expected time frame below and connect directly with your State Energy Coordinator if you need a firmer ETA. ***

USDA has now moved to a quarterly cycle. The deadlines are now on a rolling basis, and each fiscal year contains the following four competitions with the following deadlines (in this order):

• September 30th

• December 31st

• March 31st

• June 30th

Starting Your Project

Project payments made prior to your application being submitted and marked '“complete” will reduce your eligible grant request. Construction cannot begin until after your application has been reviewed for completeness.

As long as your REAP application is submitted and marked as received and complete by USDA before you start construction, you can go ahead and begin your project (i.e. making payments and starting construction) without waiting on award announcements. Some offices review and mark applications “complete” within days. Some take months. It depends on the state, and it depends on the time of year. Talk to your State Energy Coordinator directly if you need a firm understanding of this date for your project.

Typically the “application complete” letter will be back-dated to the date of application submission, so in theory you could take a risk and start making payments immediately after application submission and keep your fingers crossed that (1) your application will be deemed “complete” and (2) the completion letter will be back-dated so that your payment will still have come after the allowable date.

Competition and Award Announcements

Each US state has a certain allocation of the federal funds to be used for in-state funding each quarter. Projects should hear if they have been offered funding at the state level within 6 months after their relevant application deadline. If they are not funded, they will be forwarded to the state’s next quarterly competition (if one is available). At least once per fiscal year, National Office may allow projects unfunded at the state level to compete in a national pool. August-September 2024 is what we’re hearing as the next national pooling competition, but nothing has been set in stone.

If the project is not awarded after the last competition in a fiscal year, they can choose to submit a new application for the following year, but only if they have not started construction or made major payments at the time of re-submission.

Getting Reimbursed

If an Applicant is offered an award and accepts the offer, they have two years from the offer date to finish the project and request their reimbursement. The project must be (1) paid in full and (2) connected to the grid for 30 days, at which point the Applicant can initiate the reimbursement process with USDA. This involves some more forms that confirm the final cost and details about the project, and money is usually in the account within weeks. (USDA does not quarterly-batch their reimbursement process.)