To speed up project financing, DOE will allow proposed borrowers and project sponsors to work directly with eligible lenders to gain financing. The lenders will then apply to DOE for partial, risk-sharing loan guarantees of no more than 80% of the maximum aggregate principal and interest during a loan term.
The new approach is one aspect of DOE's new Financial Institution Partnership Program, which establishes a streamlined set of standards designed to expedite DOE's underwriting process for loan guarantees. See the DOE press release, the full solicitation, and the DOE Loan Guarantee Program Web site.
USDA Loans $17.4M for Greensburg, Kansas, to Run on Wind Power
Greensburg, Kansas got a boost from the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) on October 9, when the agency announced a $17.4 million loan for a 12.5 MW wind project that will provide power for the city.
Greensburg is in the process of rebuilding as a green community following a devastating tornado in May 2007 - the $23.3 million Greensburg Wind Farm is expected to help the city to meet its energy goal of 100% renewable energy.
The USDA loan will go to a subsidiary of John Deere Renewables with the remaining $5.8 million from an equity investment by Deere & Company. Kansas Power Pool - the municipal energy agency to which the city belongs - will buy the electricity generated by the Greensburg Wind Farm, supplying its wind power to Greensburg and surrounding communities.
In addition, NativeEnergy, Inc. will sell Renewable Energy Credits for about two-thirds of the wind farm's energy output over the next 20 years. The 10-turbine Greensburg Wind Farm is expected to start producing power next year. See the USDA press release, the April 2009 announcement of the project by John Deere (PDF 332 KB), and NativeEnergy's Greensburg Wind Farm Web page.
The wind farm is the latest phase in the community's efforts to rebuild green. Only two weeks after the tornado destroyed 95% of the city's houses, city officials called DOE for assistance. After meeting with officials, DOE opened a Greensburg office to advise residents and commercial users on sustainable rebuilding. DOE also committed a team of experts from NREL to conduct detailed studies, develop renewable energy and efficiency business strategies, and assemble various financing and ownership options to produce or procure renewable energy technologies. See the DOE press release and Web page on the Greensburg project.
Interior Department, California Launch Renewable Energy Initiative
Secretary of Interior Ken Salazar and California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger signed an agreement October 12 to spur development of environmentally appropriate renewable energy on federal lands in California.
Among its major provisions, the Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) will establish a Renewable Energy Policy Group to guide the cooperative work; develop a strategy to identify areas suitable and acceptable for renewable energy development; identify renewable energy zones based on renewable energy development potential and environmental, wildlife, and conservation criteria; prioritize application processing for solar development in renewable energy zones; and coordinate with federal and state agencies to identify energy and transmission needs, as well as to designate transmission needs and corridors.
