§53731 Commercial demonstration ocean thermal energy conversion facilities and plantships

Summary

The federal government can promise to back loans that help build commercial demonstration ocean thermal energy conversion (OTEC) facilities or plantships. It can guarantee projects for up to 5 separate facilities or until they reach 400 megawatts in total, whichever happens first. These guarantees follow the normal loan-guarantee rules unless this part says something different. The required economic soundness check under section 53708 must apply to any part not paid with federal funds. The Secretary of Energy, after talking with the loan agency, must certify that there is enough assurance of performance and payment to keep the government’s risk at a reasonable level. In making that decision, the Secretary must look at whether the technology has been shown to work at a useful scale and at the national need and benefits of the project. A guarantee cannot be for more than 87.5 percent of the facility’s actual or depreciated cost, or of the financed portion when federal funds help pay the cost. A special OTEC Demonstration Fund in the parent account will hold money for these guarantees. Money from guarantees tied to these projects must go into that fund. The parent account is not responsible for these guarantees. The unpaid principal guaranteed at any one time from the OTEC fund cannot be more than $1,650,000,000. Any bonds for the fund must be paid only from the fund’s proceeds. Interest on a guaranteed obligation is taxable as gross income.