Cooley LLP

Government Financing Update
Loan Guarantee Solicitation Announcement

Cooley Government Financing Resource Center

Recovery Act Cooley Alert
Solicitation
Final Regulations
Proposed Amendments

Press Release

KEY ATTORNEY CONTACTS

Tom Amis 202/843-7879

Tom Coll 858/550-6013

Alison Freeman-Gleason
206/452-8755

Jim Fulton 650/843-5103

Gordon Ho 650/843-5190

Craig Jacoby 415/693-2147

James Linfield 720/566-4010

Andrew Lustig 703/456-8134

Patrick Mitchell 617/937-2315

Kevin Mullen 202/842-7882

Ryan Naftulin 202/842-7822

Nik Patel 202/843-7856

John Robertson 206/452-8763

Joseph Scherer 415/693-2017

Department of Treasury
Loan Guarantee Program

Federal Loan Guarantees for
Electric Power Transmission
Infrastructure Investment Projects

Application Deadline
Deadlines are included below. Please note: Important information re registration and other pre-submission requirements are included in the loan guarantee solicitation announcement (the “Solicitation”). Please refer to the Solicitation for details.

Deadline Date
Part I Submissions Due September 14, 2009
First Round Part II Submission Due October 26, 2009
Second Round Part II Submission Due December 10, 2009
Third & Final Round Part II Submission Due January 25, 2010

Award Instrument :Loan or loan guarantee agreement

Total Funding Available
Total amount available not specified; $750,000,000 available for credit subsidy costs (see "Fees" below)

Program Description
This Solicitation invites the submission of applications for loan guarantees under Title XVII of the Energy Policy Act of 2005 ("Energy Policy Act") from the Department of Energy ("DOE") in support of debt financing for large transmission infrastructure projects in the United States that use commercial technologies and begin construction by September 30, 2011. The DOE's Loan Guarantee Program is subject to regulations set forth in Part 609 under chapter II of title 10 of the Code of Federal Regulations (see “Final Regulations”; see also “Proposed Amendments”).

Eligibility Requirements
The Solicitation makes $750,000,000 available for credit subsidy costs, provided by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 ("Recovery Act"), of projects that meet the following general eligibility requirements:

  • The project commences construction on or before September 30, 2011;
  • The project creates or retains jobs in the United States;
  • The project utilizes a commercial technology;
  • The project cannot be financed from private sources on standard commercial terms;
  • The project meets at least one of the following criteria: (1) the project involves new or upgraded lines of at least 100 miles of 500 kilovolts (kV) or higher or 150 miles of 345 kV; (2) the project has at least 30 miles of transmission cable under water; (3) the project has a high voltage direct current (DC) component; (4) the project is a major interregional connector; (5) 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; (6) the project is associated with offshore generation, such as open ocean wave energy, ocean thermal, or offshore wind; (7) the project mitigates a substantial reliability risk for a major population center; or (8) the project involves a set of improvements to an integrated system within a state or region that together aggregate new or upgraded lines of at least 100 miles of 500 kilovolts (kV) or higher or 150 miles of 345 kV;
  • The project meets all applicable requirements of Title XVII of the Energy Policy Act (including Section 1705) as implemented by the Final Regulations; and
  • The project meets all applicable requirements of the Recovery Act.

Application Process
The application process is staged in two consecutive submissions, each organized into six identical sections:

  • Part I: An applicant's Part I submission is expected to provide the DOE with a summary level description of the project, project eligibility, financing strategy, and progression to date in critical path schedules.
  • Part II: An applicant's Part II submission is expected to provide the DOE with due diligence information requirements and include updated and complete project information.

Fees

Applicants may be charged the following fees to cover the administrative expenses of the DOE's Loan Guarantee Program:

Fee Amount
Application Fee $800,000 $200,000 (25%) due with Part I
$600,000 (75%) due with Part II
Facility Fee 0.5% of guaranteed amount
Maintenance Fee Anticipated $200,000 to $400,000 each year, payable each year in advance or at closing in lump sum, if specified in loan guarantee agreement
Credit Subsidy Cost OE anticipates that it will directly pay, subject to the availability of funds, the Credit Subsidy Cost at or before the closing for eligible projects