DOE Provides Loan Guarantee Application Tips

by Anna Austin (Biomass Magazine) ... DOE Program Manager Michael Fraser identified characteristics to strengthen the financial review of project applications. Information on third–party supply and off-take agreements to support revenue and cost projections, or having a reliable source of raw materials or a buyer committed to purchasing the output of a project at a certain price, are compared favorably to applications that do not, he said, as these are helpful determinants of credit quality.

While strong engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) contracts may not be entirely feasible for every project, applications that lack them, or do not provide insight into key EPC terms or include contracts presenting highly variable costs may be deemed weaker than comparable applications that include them, according to Fraser.

... On the technical attributes side, Fraser said in general, applicants proposing innovative projects should be able to submit a minimum of 1,000 to 2,000 hours of operating data from a demonstration or pilot plant that uses the same technology as proposed in the loan application. READ MORE