Funding is available for energy projects at Maine's rural small businesses and agricultural producers through the USDA Rural Development agency's Rural Energy for America Program (REAP). At stake is about $200 million in guaranteed loan funds available to finance
renewable energy and energy efficiency projects in fiscal year 2016.
Since 2008, the USDA REAP program has provided grants and loan guarantees for renewable and energy efficiency projects at qualifying rural small businesses and agricultural producers. Its loan program helps finance renewable energy systems and energy efficiency improvements. Typical projects awarded funding in previous rounds include biomass fueled anaerobic digesters and biodiesel production, solar, wind,
geothermal, efficient lighting conversions, motor upgrades, building envelope and HVAC
improvements.
REAP describes its loan guarantee program as lender-driven. Usually, a qualifying farm or business will approach a lender to discuss financing a proposed project. That lender then requests the USDA
Rural Development loan guarantee, and if approved, makes and services the
loan. Guaranteed loan amounts can range from $5,000 to $25 million. The guaranteed loan amount can cover up to 75% of the total eligible
project cost, while 25% of project costs must come from
other sources like business equity or other borrowed funds.
USDA Rural Development provides more information on its website about how
to apply for a USDA REAP loan guarantee. The Preti Flaherty team helps our clients understand how to benefit from
REAP funding and other incentive programs for renewable energy and
energy efficiency. Contact Todd Griset to learn more.
Energy powers society; society's choices shape energy policy. A blog about our energy resources and the choices they present for society.
Showing posts with label project. Show all posts
Showing posts with label project. Show all posts
Northern Pass files with NH SEC
Wednesday, October 21, 2015
The developer of the Northern Pass Transmission Project, a proposed high-voltage transmission line from Canada into New Hampshire, filed a formal application to New Hampshire regulators this week.
First proposed in 2009, the Northern Pass project would include about 190 miles of new direct current transmission lines and an AC-DC converter station. Collectively, the project would be capable of importing over 1,000 megawatts of power from Canada into the New England electric grid. Its formal sponsors are two companies affiliated under the Eversource family: Northern Pass Transmission LLC and Public Service Company of New Hampshire d/b/a Eversource Energy.
Early versions of proposal drew criticism and controversy over issues including siting, visual impacts, the potential use of eminent domain, and impacts to domestic renewable energy production. After a series of public information meetings and other dialogue, Eversource released a revised route and plan in August 2015.
On October 19, Eversource announced that it had filed a formal application to the New Hampshire Site Evaluation Committee. The Northern Pass Transmission application to the SEC is available on the project's website. It describes a project cost estimate of $1.6 billion, and a capacity of 1,090 megawatts.
The SEC was established by the state legislature for the review, approval, monitoring and enforcement of compliance in the planning, siting, construction and operation of energy facilities. It includes members from the Public Utilities Commission, cabinet level commissioners, and two members of the public. The SEC has jurisdiction to review applications for siting and construction of large-scale energy facilities and to issue a Certificate of Site and Facility enabling a project's development. The process before the SEC is likely to play out through 2016.
First proposed in 2009, the Northern Pass project would include about 190 miles of new direct current transmission lines and an AC-DC converter station. Collectively, the project would be capable of importing over 1,000 megawatts of power from Canada into the New England electric grid. Its formal sponsors are two companies affiliated under the Eversource family: Northern Pass Transmission LLC and Public Service Company of New Hampshire d/b/a Eversource Energy.
Early versions of proposal drew criticism and controversy over issues including siting, visual impacts, the potential use of eminent domain, and impacts to domestic renewable energy production. After a series of public information meetings and other dialogue, Eversource released a revised route and plan in August 2015.
On October 19, Eversource announced that it had filed a formal application to the New Hampshire Site Evaluation Committee. The Northern Pass Transmission application to the SEC is available on the project's website. It describes a project cost estimate of $1.6 billion, and a capacity of 1,090 megawatts.
The SEC was established by the state legislature for the review, approval, monitoring and enforcement of compliance in the planning, siting, construction and operation of energy facilities. It includes members from the Public Utilities Commission, cabinet level commissioners, and two members of the public. The SEC has jurisdiction to review applications for siting and construction of large-scale energy facilities and to issue a Certificate of Site and Facility enabling a project's development. The process before the SEC is likely to play out through 2016.
Federal grants support microgrids
Thursday, September 18, 2014
The U.S. Department of Energy has awarded over $8 million in funding for 7 microgrid projects. Will microgrids play an increasing role in the U.S. electricity industry?
Microgrids -- localized grids capable of operating as energy islands using distributed generation, energy storage, and distribution wires, as well as able to connect to the broader utility grid -- can offer participants and society at large significant value. These benefits can include increased reliability against storm damage and infrastructure damage, reduced emissions of carbon and other pollutants, and reduced costs.
The Energy Department runs a portfolio of microgrid activities ranging from direct research and development to building community support. Most recently, the Department announced over $8 million in grant funding to support 7 microgrid projects. The Department selected these projects based on their ability to develop advanced microgrid controllers and system designs for microgrids less than 10 megawatts:
Each project also includes an awardee cost share ranging from 20 percent to about 50 percent. Will the DOE funds lead to better and more widely adopted microgrids?
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| Solar photovoltaic panels can serve as distributed generation for microgrids. |
Microgrids -- localized grids capable of operating as energy islands using distributed generation, energy storage, and distribution wires, as well as able to connect to the broader utility grid -- can offer participants and society at large significant value. These benefits can include increased reliability against storm damage and infrastructure damage, reduced emissions of carbon and other pollutants, and reduced costs.
The Energy Department runs a portfolio of microgrid activities ranging from direct research and development to building community support. Most recently, the Department announced over $8 million in grant funding to support 7 microgrid projects. The Department selected these projects based on their ability to develop advanced microgrid controllers and system designs for microgrids less than 10 megawatts:
- ALSTOM Grid, Inc.: about $1.2 million to research and design community microgrid systems for the Philadelphia Industrial Development Corporation and the Philadelphia Water Department, using portions of the former Philadelphia Navy Yard.
- Burr Energy, LLC: about $1.2 million to design and build a resilient microgrid to allow the Olney, Maryland Town Center to operate for weeks in the event of a regional outage, and a second microgrid for multi-use commercial development in Maryland.
- Commonwealth Edison Company (ComEd): about $1.2 million to develop and test a commercial-grade microgrid controller capable of controlling a system of two or more interconnected microgrids, serving civic infrastructure including police and fire department headquarters, transportation and healthcare facilities, and private residences.
- Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI): about $1.2 million to develop a commercially-viable standardized microgrid controller that can allow a community to provide continuous power for critical loads.
- General Electric Company (GE): about $1.2 million to develop an enhanced microgrid control system in Potsdam, New York, by adding new capabilities, such as frequency regulation.
- TDX Power, Inc.: about $1.2 million to engineer, design, simulate, and build a microgrid control system on remote Saint Paul Island, an island located in the Bering Sea off mainland Alaska.
- The University of California, Irvine (UCI): about $1.2 million for the Advanced Power and Energy Program at UCI to develop and test a generic microgrid controller intended to be readily adapted to manage a range of microgrid systems, and supporting the development of open source industry standards.
Each project also includes an awardee cost share ranging from 20 percent to about 50 percent. Will the DOE funds lead to better and more widely adopted microgrids?
Feds to auction Maryland offshore wind sites
Monday, August 11, 2014
On August 19, the U.S. Department of the Interior's Bureau of Ocean Energy Management will auction off rights to lease sites off the Maryland coast for offshore wind. Through the auction, which will represent the third auction for offshore wind sites in federal waters since July 2013, the Bureau hopes it will award leases to two areas covering approximately 80,000 acres about
10 nautical miles east of the Ocean City coastline.
Last year, the Department of the Interior held its first offshore wind site auction for sites off Massachusetts and Rhode Island; Deepwater Wind won that auction with a bid of $3.8 million. The second auction, held for Virginia on September 4, covered approximately 112,799 acres about 23.5 nautical miles from the Virginia Beach coastline; Dominion Virginia Power won that auction with a bid of $1.6 million.
The Maryland auction later this month will follow procedures similar to those used in the previous two auctions. Based on previous expressions of interest and qualifications, BOEM has determined that sixteen companies are eligible to bid on the Maryland sites:
Offshore wind project developers must coordinate regulatory, financial, and engineering efforts. Securing a site for a project is a major step forward, but is only one of many important steps necessary to build an operating offshore wind project -- something the U.S. still lacks. How much interest will the Maryland auction draw? Who will win the right to lease the two parcels in the Maryland wind energy area, and how much will they pay? Will the auction winners actually build offshore wind projects? Some of these questions will be answered when the auction closes on August 19.
Last year, the Department of the Interior held its first offshore wind site auction for sites off Massachusetts and Rhode Island; Deepwater Wind won that auction with a bid of $3.8 million. The second auction, held for Virginia on September 4, covered approximately 112,799 acres about 23.5 nautical miles from the Virginia Beach coastline; Dominion Virginia Power won that auction with a bid of $1.6 million.
The Maryland auction later this month will follow procedures similar to those used in the previous two auctions. Based on previous expressions of interest and qualifications, BOEM has determined that sixteen companies are eligible to bid on the Maryland sites:
- Apex Offshore Maryland, LLC
- Bluewater Wind Maryland LLC
- Convalt Energy LLC
- Dominion Wind Development, LLC
- EDF Renewable Development, Inc.
- Energy Management, Inc.
- Fishermen’s Energy, LLC
- Green Sail Energy LLC
- IBERDROLA RENEWABLES, Inc.
- Maryland Offshore Wind LLC
- Orisol Energy US, Inc.
- RES America Developments Inc.
- SCS Maryland Energy LLC
- Sea Breeze Energy LLC
- Seawind Renewable Energy Corporation LLC
- US Wind Inc.
Offshore wind project developers must coordinate regulatory, financial, and engineering efforts. Securing a site for a project is a major step forward, but is only one of many important steps necessary to build an operating offshore wind project -- something the U.S. still lacks. How much interest will the Maryland auction draw? Who will win the right to lease the two parcels in the Maryland wind energy area, and how much will they pay? Will the auction winners actually build offshore wind projects? Some of these questions will be answered when the auction closes on August 19.
Energy Department offers $4 billion loan guarantee program for renewable energy and efficiency projects
Tuesday, July 8, 2014
The U.S. Department of Energy has announced a $4 billion loan guarantee program for renewable energy and energy efficiency projects.
The Renewable Energy and Efficient Energy Projects Loan Guarantee program is intended to support the first commercial-scale deployments of the next wave of innovative clean energy technologies. Through the program, the Energy Department solicits applications for loan guarantees. When a successful applicant borrows money for project finance from a commercial bank, the federal government promises to assume the borrower's debt obligation if that borrower defaults. This guarantee serves as a credit backstop for the borrower, ultimately reducing its cost of financing because the lender knows it has resort to federal funds if the borrower cannot repay the loan.
The current program follows a series of previous Energy Department loan guarantee programs. These programs have helped finance projects including the NRG Solar, LLC's 290-megawatt Agua Caliente solar photovoltaic array (the world's largest), NRG Energy, Inc.'s 392-megwatt Brightsource concentrating solar power (CSP) plant (also the world's largest), the 845-megawatt Caithness Shepherds Flat wind project, and Abengoa Bioenergy Biomass of Kansas LLC's cellulosic ethanol plant. While not all of the previous programs' awardees have been successful -- for example, failed solar panel maker Solyndra -- the Department touts the programs as aligned with President Obama's Climate Action Plan, by supporting investment in domestic energy resources and reductions in greenhouse gas emissions.
To be eligible for the present solicitation (48-page PDF), a project must be located in the United States and meet both of the following criteria:
Under the solicitation, the first round of application materials is due on October 1, 2014. For more information on the opportunity, contact the Energy Department, or consult a professional experienced with financing and developing energy projects.
The Preti Flaherty team advises our clients on all aspects of energy project development, including the pursuit of federal funding and financial support. For more information, please contact Todd Griset at 207-623-5300.
The Renewable Energy and Efficient Energy Projects Loan Guarantee program is intended to support the first commercial-scale deployments of the next wave of innovative clean energy technologies. Through the program, the Energy Department solicits applications for loan guarantees. When a successful applicant borrows money for project finance from a commercial bank, the federal government promises to assume the borrower's debt obligation if that borrower defaults. This guarantee serves as a credit backstop for the borrower, ultimately reducing its cost of financing because the lender knows it has resort to federal funds if the borrower cannot repay the loan.
The current program follows a series of previous Energy Department loan guarantee programs. These programs have helped finance projects including the NRG Solar, LLC's 290-megawatt Agua Caliente solar photovoltaic array (the world's largest), NRG Energy, Inc.'s 392-megwatt Brightsource concentrating solar power (CSP) plant (also the world's largest), the 845-megawatt Caithness Shepherds Flat wind project, and Abengoa Bioenergy Biomass of Kansas LLC's cellulosic ethanol plant. While not all of the previous programs' awardees have been successful -- for example, failed solar panel maker Solyndra -- the Department touts the programs as aligned with President Obama's Climate Action Plan, by supporting investment in domestic energy resources and reductions in greenhouse gas emissions.
To be eligible for the present solicitation (48-page PDF), a project must be located in the United States and meet both of the following criteria:
1. Use renewable energy systems; efficient electrical generation, transmission, and distribution technologies; or efficient end-use energy technologies; andBeyond these general criteria, the Energy Department's Loan Programs Office has identified five target areas for awards:
2. Meet both of the following requirements : a) Avoid, reduce, or sequester anthropogenic emission of greenhouse gases; and b) employ new or significantly improved technology as compared to commercial technology in service in the United States.
- Advanced Grid Integration and Storage: mitigating issues related to variability, dispatchability, congestion, and control of renewable energy systems by incorporating technologies such as demand response or local storage, enabling enhanced integration of renewable energy into the grid.
- Drop-In Biofuels: developing biofuels that are more compatible with today’s engines, delivery infrastructure and refueling station equipment, enabling nearly identical bio-based substitutes for crude oil, gasoline, diesel fuel, and jet fuel.
- Waste-to-Energy: projects using waste materials which are otherwise discarded, such as landfill methane and segregated waste, as energy sources.
- Enhancement of Existing Facilities: incorporating renewable generation technology into existing renewable energy and efficient energy facilities to significantly enhance performance or extend the lifetime of the generating asset.
- Efficiency Improvements: projects incorporating new or improved technologies to further improve on energy efficiency that would substantially reduce greenhouse gases.
Under the solicitation, the first round of application materials is due on October 1, 2014. For more information on the opportunity, contact the Energy Department, or consult a professional experienced with financing and developing energy projects.
The Preti Flaherty team advises our clients on all aspects of energy project development, including the pursuit of federal funding and financial support. For more information, please contact Todd Griset at 207-623-5300.
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