Solicitation 1: FEDERAL LOAN GUARANTEES FOR ELECTRIC POWER TRANSMISSION INFRASTRUCTURE INVESTMENT PROJECTS
Solicitation No.: DE-FOA-0000132.
Part I Due Date: September 14, 2009.
Eligible Projects include projects that consist of “complex electric transmission systems project located in the United States … that (i) utilizes a Commercial Technology, (ii) is reasonably likely, at the time of the submission of the Part I application, to commence construction on or before September 30, 2011, (iii) meets all applicable requirements of Title XVII, including Section 1705 … (iv) cannot be financed from private sources on standard commercial terms, and (v) meets at least one of the following criteria set forth below (an “Eligible Project”):
- The project involves new or upgraded lines of at least 100 miles of 500 kilovolts (kV) or higher or 150 miles of 345 kV.
- The project has at least 30 miles of transmission cable under water.
- The project has a high voltage direct current (DC) component.
- The project is a major interregional connector.
- The project is designated as a National Interest Electric Transmission Corridor by DOE under the Energy Policy Act of 2005, Pub. L. No. 109-58.
- The project is associated with offshore generation, such as open ocean wave energy, ocean thermal, or offshore wind.
- The project mitigates a substantial reliability risk for a major population center.
- A set of improvements to an integrated system within a State or region that together aggregate to meet the criteria in Section II.A.1 above.
Projects that support the generation of power from renewable energy sources will receive special consideration. Electric power transmission systems projects that do not meet any of the criteria set forth in Section II.A.1-8 may be eligible to apply for a loan guarantee under separate future solicitations.
Solicitation 2: FEDERAL LOAN GUARANTEES FOR PROJECTS THAT EMPLOY INNOVATIVE ENERGY EFFICIENCY, RENEWABLE ENERGY, AND ADVANCED TRANSMISSION AND DISTRIBUTION TECHNOLOGIES
Solicitation No.: DE-FOA-0000140
This Solicitation focuses on projects ready for commercial deployment in the proximate future that (1) avoid, reduce, or sequester air pollutants or anthropogenic emissions of greenhouse gases; (2) employ New or Significantly Improved Technologies as compared to Commercial Technologies in service in the United States at the time a Term Sheet is issued in respect of such project; and (3) provide a reasonable prospect of repayment of the principal and interest of the guaranteed portion of the Guaranteed Obligation and other project debt, which, when combined with the amounts available to the Borrower from other sources, will be sufficient to carry out the project. Supports debt financing for projects that employ energy efficiency, renewable energy and advanced transmission and distribution technologies that constitute New or Significantly Improved Technologies.
An “eligible project” is a project located in the United States that employs a New or Significantly Improved Technology that is NOT a Commercial Technology. Foreign ownership or sponsorship of the project is permissible so long as the project is located in one of the fifty (50) states, the District of Columbia or a U.S. territory. A Commercial Technology means a technology in general use in the commercial marketplace in the United States at the time the Term Sheet is issued by DOE. A technology is in general use if it has been installed in and is being used in three or more commercial projects in the United States in the same general application as in the proposed project, and has been in operation in each such commercial project for a period of at least five years by the time the Term Sheet is issued. Such five-year period starts on the in service date of a given project or facility employing that technology. Examples of eligible projects include:
Manufacturing Projects
- Energy Efficient Industrial Manufacturing
- Energy Efficient Building Equipment and Components Technologies
- Hybrid Vehicle Manufacturing Facilities
- Advanced Wind Turbine or Component Manufacturing Facilities
- Ocean Wave, Tidal, and River Current (e.g., hydrokinetic) Manufacturing Facilities
- Utility-Scale Energy Storage Device Manufacturing Facilities
- Battery Manufacturing Facilities
- Hydrogen and Fuel Cell Manufacturing Facilities
- Low-cost Carbon Fiber Manufacturing Facilities
- Plug-in Hybrid Manufacturing and Assembly Facilities
- Solar Technology Manufacturing Facilities
- High Temperature Geothermal Pump Manufacturing Facilities
- Advanced Geothermal Power Cycle Manufacturing Facilities
- Substation-Class Transformer Manufacturing Facilities
- Energy Efficient, High Capacity Transmission Cable/Conductor Manufacturing Facilities
- High Power, High Voltage Power Electronics (or Transmission-Class Solid-State Equipment)
Manufacturing Facilities
Stand-Alone Projects
- Commercialization of Advanced Design Bio-Refineries for Multi-Feedstock Processing into
Biofuels
- Geothermal Power Project Development in Known Geothermal Resource Areas
- Large-Scale Concentrated Solar Power (“CSP”) and Concentrated Photovoltaic (“CPV”)
Projects
- Tidal Energy Project
- Wave Energy Project
- Advanced Hydropower Project
- Offshore Wind Project
- Industrial Energy Efficiency Projects
- Implementing Hydrogen Fuel Cells into a Project for Stationary and or Vehicular Applications
- Integration of an Energy Efficient Technology into a Commercial, Residential, or Industrial
Facility or Building
- Advanced Hydropower Facility
TECHNOLOGY CATEGORIES
Applicants may submit applications for technologies not specifically listed below but which conform to the requirements set forth in Section 1703 of Title XVII, the Final Regulations and this Solicitation. The following list is provided for illustrative purposes only in order to familiarize the applicant with the types of technologies potentially constituting New or Significantly Improved Technologies that may fit within each defined category. The technology categories set forth in this Attachment E are not presumed to employ New or Significantly Improved Technologies. Submission of an application supporting a project that fits within one or more of the illustrative technology categories set forth below neither assures that an applicant will be selected to enter into negotiations with DOE nor assures that such applicant will be issued a Loan Guarantee Agreement.
Category 1 Alternative Fuel Vehicles
- Battery manufacturing facilities
- Plug-in hybrid manufacturing and assembly facilities
- Advanced hybrid manufacturing facilities
Category 2 Biomass
a. Bioenergy projects as described in Section 932(d) of the Energy Policy Act of 2005
b. Biofuels production, distribution and infrastructure
c. Municipal solid waste (“MSW”) to ethanol projects or syngas (for the non-recyclable portion of MSW)
d. Biomass to syngas projects including but not limited to fossil fuel repowering projects
e. Biomass to diesel projects (excluding fatty acid methyl ester projects)
f. Bio-oil derived fuel projects
g. Biosolids to diesel, ethanol or electricity production
Category 3 Efficient Electricity Transmission, Distribution and Storage
a. Smart grid technologies
b. Solid-state devices for grid applications such as advanced converters, transformers, and fault current limiters
c. Advanced utility-scale energy storage devices
d. Advanced cables and conductors
e. Advanced technologies that assist in the widespread deployment of intermittent renewable energy systems and which combine generation with storage facilities and demand side management
Category 4 Energy Efficient Building Technologies and Applications
a. Improved building shell materials
b. Cool roof materials
c. Day-lighting technologies
d. Lighting systems
e. Advanced window technologies
Category 5 Geothermal
a. Advanced exploration and drilling technologies
b. Electricity production from hot wastewater from oil and gas wells
c. Advanced power cycle technologies
d. Hybrid cooling systems
e. Enhanced air-cooled condensation systems
f. High temperature and high pressure instrumentation and diagnostic tools
g. Advanced geothermal power facilities
Category 6 Hydrogen and Fuel Cell Technologies
a. Manufacturing for small scale fuel cell systems
b. Utility scale hydrogen energy storage systems
c. Combined heat and power fuel cells for buildings
Category 7 Energy Efficiency Projects
a. Technologies which reduce energy consumption in industrial, commercial and institutional applications.
b. Examples for industrial applications include the aluminum, chemicals, forest products, glass, metal casting, mining, petroleum refining and steel industries.
c. Examples for commercial applications include large office buildings, big box retailers, shopping malls, apartment complexes and housing subdivisions.
d. Examples for institutional applications include universities and hospitals.
Category 8 Solar
a. Centralized solar electricity generation facilities or installations (concentrated solar power or photovoltaic)
b. Solar technology manufacturing facilities (concentrated solar power or photovoltaic)
c. Advanced solar thermal technologies, applications and manufacturing
Category 9 Wind and Hydropower
a. Advanced wind power plant
b. Wind or renewables specific transmission lines
c. Turbine or component manufacturing
d. Testing facilities for commercial wind turbine components
e. Community wind power systems
f. Hydropower technology devices in existing impoundments
g. Ocean wave and ocean, tidal and river current (hydrokinetic) energy projects
NOTE: 1705 Eligible Projects do not include projects under Categories 1, 4, 6 and 7 above.