DOE Announces Solicitations for $30.5 Billion in Federal Loan

We wanted to make you aware of the most recent announcement of solicitations from the Department of Energy (DOE) as part of its Federal Loan Guarantee Program. This program will offer support for qualifying projects that employ advanced energy technologies that avoid, reduce or sequester air pollutants or greenhouse gas emissions. This announcement outlines a federal loan program to represents the second of three rounds of solicitations stemming from the 2005 Energy Policy Act.

Among the project areas covered by the announcement are energy efficiency, renewable energy and advanced transmission and distribution technologies. Projects falling under these categories will be classified as either manufacturing, stand-alone or large-scale integration projects and can cover a wide range of renewable energy and efficiency technologies. In addition, the solicitation includes nuclear power facilities and advanced nuclear facilities for the ‘front-end' of the nuclear fuel cycle.

Projects will be selected based upon the ability to "avoid, reduce or sequester air pollutants or greenhouse gas emissions." Additional factors to be considered include the speed of commercialization, the prospect of repayment of the guaranteed debt and the potential for long-lasting success of these technologies in the marketplace.

The deadline for submitting a loan guarantee application is either September 29 or December 31, 2008, depending on the project which provides ample time to consider this potential opportunity for federal funding. If you have any questions or would like to discuss potential opportunities involving the DOE's Federal Loan Guarantee Program, please feel free to contact Andy Ehrlich at andrew.ehrlich@bakerd.com or Josh Andrews at josh.andrews@bakerd.com. B&D Consulting has significant experience in engaging the DOE on behalf of clients interested in pursuing funding opportunities, and we would be pleased to share our insight on this process and the best practices for achieving success.

Later this summer, the DOE will issue its third round of solicitations which will cover advanced fossil energy projects. In our continued efforts to keep you informed of timely developments taking place in the field of energy and climate change, we will be sure to include you on future announcements concerning the DOE's solicitations.