DOE Announces Solicitations for $30.5 Billion in Loan Guarantees
July 03, 2008
WASHINGTON, DC — On June 30, the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) announced three solicitations—for a total of up to $30.5 billion in federal loan guarantees—for projects that employ advanced energy technologies that avoid, reduce or sequester air pollutants or greenhouse gas emissions. This marks the second round of solicitations for DOE's Loan Guarantee Program, which encourages the commercial use of new or significantly improved energy technologies, and is an important step in paving the way for clean energy projects.
In a Fiscal Year (FY) 2008 loan guarantee implementation plan sent to Congress in April, DOE outlined plans to issue its second round of solicitations no later than June 2008 for energy efficiency, renewable energy and advanced transmission and distribution projects (up to $10 billion); nuclear power facilities (up to $18.5 billion); and advanced nuclear facilities for the "front-end" of the nuclear fuel cycle (up to $2 billion). Later this summer, DOE intends to issue a solicitation for loan guarantee applications for advanced fossil energy projects (up to $8 billion).
"Loan guarantees from the Department will enable project developers to bridge the financing gap between pilot and demonstration projects to full commercially viable projects that employ new or significantly improved energy technologies," Jeffrey F. Kupfer, the Acting Deputy Secretary of Energy, said. "Projects supported by loan guarantees will help meet President Bush's goal of diversifying our nation's energy mix with energy projects that will improve the environment while increasing energy efficiency."
The Department issued a Request for Information on April 11. Public meetings were held in Washington, D.C. and Palo Alto, CA, to receive input on development of the solicitation for energy efficiency, renewable energy and advanced transmission and distribution projects.
The loan guarantee process is organized into four phases: application, project evaluation, conditional commitment, and final approval and closing of a Loan Guarantee Agreement. The selection criteria focus on the ability to avoid, reduce or sequester air pollutants or greenhouse gas emissions, the speed with which the technologies can be commercialized, the prospect of repaying the debt, and the potential for the long-lasting success of these technologies in the marketplace.
See DOE's Loan Guarantee Program Web site for more information about this solicitation.
