§53731 Commercial Demonstration Ocean Thermal Energy Conversion Facilities and Plantships

Summary

Lets the Administrator guarantee loans or make a promise to guarantee loans that pay to build, rebuild, or fix commercial demonstration ocean thermal energy conversion (OTEC) facilities or plantships, and can cover past costs the borrower already paid. Guarantees may support no more than 5 facilities or a total of 400 megawatts, whichever comes first. The usual rules for loan guarantees in the same subchapter apply unless this law says something different. The part of a project not paid with federal appropriations must still pass the required economic-soundness check. The Secretary of Energy, after talking with the Administrator, must certify that there is enough performance and payment security to bring the federal risk down to a reasonable level. In that decision the Secretary must consider whether the technology has been shown to work at a useful scale and the need and benefits to the United States of the project. A guarantee cannot be for more than 87.5% of the actual cost (or the financed portion if federal funds also support the project). A special OTEC Demonstration Fund is set up inside the parent account to hold money for guarantees that don’t fit the normal rules. Money related to these guarantees must go into that fund while related obligations are outstanding. The fund can transfer excess assets to the parent account when its balance is larger than the guarantees and related obligations still outstanding. The parent account is not responsible for guarantees made under this authority. The total unpaid principal backed by the OTEC Fund cannot exceed $1,650,000,000. The normal rules for issuing and paying obligations apply, but those obligations can be paid only from the OTEC Fund. Interest on these guaranteed loans must be reported as taxable income.