posted on Thursday, November 08, 2007 5:50 PM by Jennifer Rinker

Energy Expands Loan Guarantee Program, Picks 16 Pre-Applications for Further Analysis

In response to energy industry criticism and lobbying, the Department of Energy (DOE) recently increased its loan guarantees for clean energy projects from an initially proposed 80% financial backing guarantee to a 100% guarantee of a loan, subject to the overall cap of 80% of total project cost.  DOE also responded to energy company and financial investment firm comments on the proposed rule by "stripping" the guaranteed portion of a loan from the non-guaranteed portion, except in those instances where the guaranteed portion is greater than 90% of the total loan amount.

Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee member Pete Dominici (R-NM) played a large part in the battle to get DOE to provide 100% loan guarantees, stating that Congress intended 100% support when it enacted the program as part of the Energy Policy Act of 2005.  Senator Dominici went on to add that alternative energy projects have garnered the public interest, but until now have lacked "a robust loan guarantee program [that] will provide these projects with the stability that will allow them to flourish" in the long-term.

In addition to issuing its final rule, DOE also selected 16 projects from a pool of 143 pre-applications – these 16 are invited to submit complete applications for loan guarantees for FY2007, including:

Integrated Gasification Combined-Cycle (IGCC)

Mesaba Energy Project in Minnesota      

Mississippi Power Company in Mississippi       

TX Energy, LLC in Texas

Industrial Energy Efficiency

GR Silicate Nano Fibers and Carbonates in Washington       

Sage Electrochromics in Minnesota

Solar

Luz II in Nevada         

Solyndra Inc. in California

Biomass

Alico, Inc in Florida            

Blue Fire Ethanol Inc in California            

Choren USA in the Southeast            

Endicott Biofuels LLC in Virginia                              

Iogen Biorefinery Partners LLC in Idaho    

Voyager Ethanol LLC in Iowa

Electricity Reliability

Beacon Power in New York

Fuel Cells

Bridgeport Fuel Cell Park LLC in Connecticut

Advanced Battery-Powered vehicles

Tesla Motors in New Mexico