§8107 Rural Energy for America Program

Summary

Creates a Rural Energy for America Program to help agricultural producers and rural small businesses save energy and use renewable energy. The Secretary, with the Secretary of Energy, must offer two kinds of help: grants for energy audits and technical help, and financial help (grants and loan guarantees) to buy renewable energy systems or make energy-efficiency improvements. Competitive grants go to eligible groups like state, tribal, or local governments, colleges, rural electric co-ops or public power entities, certain councils, and similar organizations. When picking grantees, the Secretary will look at experience, how big an area and how many people will be served, expected energy and environmental benefits, outreach plans, and ability to bring in other money. Grant rules: no more than 5 percent can pay admin costs, and anyone getting an energy audit must pay at least 25 percent of its cost. Financial help rules say grants can cover at most 25 percent of a project’s cost, a loan guarantee can be up to $25,000,000, and together they can cover no more than 75 percent of the project. The Secretary will consider the type of system, expected energy produced and saved, environmental benefits, payback time, and efficiency when setting amounts. Loan guarantees must meet or beat applicable codes or the most efficient market options when no codes exist, and must have more than one equipment type available. There is a three-tier application track based on project cost (tier I ≤ $80,000; tier II > $80,000 and < $200,000; tier III ≥ $200,000) with simpler rules for smaller projects. The program must do outreach at state and local levels. At least 20 percent of annual program funds must go to grants of $20,000 or less, except that rule does not apply starting June 30 of each fiscal year for funds for that year. Money comes from the Commodity Credit Corporation and is available until spent: $55,000,000 for FY2009; $60,000,000 for FY2010; $70,000,000 for FY2011; $70,000,000 for FY2012; and $50,000,000 for FY2014 and each fiscal year after. Each year 4 percent of those funds should go to the grant program for eligible entities (if not spent by April 1, those funds move to the loan/grant program). An extra $20,000,000 is authorized for each of fiscal years 2019 through 2023.