LPO Updates ? Issue 22 ? September 2024
IN THIS ISSUE:
...and more updates below from the U.S. DOE Loan Programs Office!
Biden-Harris Administration Announces $72.8 Million Loan Guarantee to Build Solar-Plus-Storage Microgrid on Tribal Lands
On September 13, the DOE and LPO announced the closing of a $72.8 million loan guarantee to support the development of a solar-plus-long-duration-energy-storage?microgrid. Indian Energy, a 100% Native-owned microgrid developer and systems integration firm, is developing the projects on the Tribal lands of the Viejas Band of Kumeyaay Indians near Alpine, California. The announcement marks the first ever closed loan guarantee through LPO’s Tribal Energy Financing Program, which was expanded and provided new loan authority by President Biden’s Inflation Reduction Act.
Projects like Viejas Microgrid support President Biden’s efforts to enhance?Tribal?energy sovereignty by promoting Tribes’ ownership of clean energy assets. By powering various commercial businesses, the Viejas Microgrid project will help the Viejas Band to benefit from a lower cost of energy and redirect savings toward investments in infrastructure maintenance, cultural and educational programs, and other Tribal member services. The project is expected to create 250 construction jobs and eight permanent operations jobs, including prioritizing Tribal-, minority-, and veteran-owned contractors.
Read the full Viejas Microgrid loan guarantee financial closing announcement and see the Viejas Microgrid project page for more details.
LPO Announces Up to $1.559 Billion Conditional Commitment to Wabash Valley Resources to Repurpose Fossil Fuel Infrastructure to Produce Low-Carbon Ammonia for Midwest Farmers
On September 16, LPO announced a conditional commitment of up to $1.559 billion to Wabash Valley Resources to finance a commercial-scale, waste-to-ammonia production facility with carbon capture and sequestration (CCS) technology in West Terre Haute, Indiana. The project would repurpose an industrial coal gasifier to produce 500,000 metric tons of anhydrous ammonia-based annually for Corn Belt farmers use as locally sourced nitrogen fertilizers while permanently storing captured CO2.
The project has potential to be the world’s first carbon-negative ammonia production facility and the first producer in the Corn Belt to produce low-carbon ammonia cost-competitively. The facility would support hundreds of high-quality union construction and operations jobs in West Terre Haute. The announcement marks the second conditional commitment for repowering non-operational energy infrastructure from LPO’s Energy Infrastructure Reinvestment (EIR) program.
As with all?conditional commitments that LPO offers, it's important to note that the expected DOE loan will only be issued pending the satisfaction of certain conditions, including final legal, contractual, technical, and financial requirements that the conditional commitment specifies.
Read the full Wabash Valley Resources conditional commitment announcement for more details.
LPO Sector Spotlight: Solar PV Supply Chain
Following LPO's August announcement of a conditional commitment to finance a solar manufacturing facility in Georgia, our most recent Sector Spotlight takes a look at how LPO can support the domestic solar photovoltaic (PV) supply chain. LPO Director Jigar Shah explains the state of the industry since the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) and how improvements in PV efficiency and lifetime energy yield continue to drive solar as the lowest-cost form of electricity generation in new domestic markets.
In addition to the dozens of new facilities assembling modules and producing other related equipment nationwide, Director Shah explains how the IRA is beginning to bolster the upstream supply chain as well, which encompasses components such as silicon wafers, ingots, and cells which are primarily manufactured overseas today.
Read the full Sector Spotlight on the Solar PV Supply Chain for more insights.
Tips for Regulated Utilities Preparing for the NEPA Review Process as Part of the Energy Infrastructure Reinvestment Program
In this final piece in the "Energy Infrastructure Reinvestment (EIR) for Utilities" blog series, LPO provides prospective utility applicants with answers to common questions about National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) reviews required for LPO projects. The blog compares state-level environmental reviews with those pursuant to NEPA, looks at the benefits of hiring an environmental consultant, and briefly outlines on LPO’s typical internal review timelines. The blog closes with a few tips that show why an early start on the relationship between applicants and LPO on the topic of NEPA leads to a higher likelihood of timely completion of the review process.
EIR projects fall under the larger umbrella of LPO’s Title 17 Clean Energy Financing Program. The Title 17 Program Guidance provides details on eligibility requirements common across all Title 17 project categories as well as EIR-specific requirements. Applicants should carefully review all program requirements and eligibility criteria in the Title 17 Program Guidance.
This is the final in a series of blogs intended to help utilities navigate the LPO’s EIR loan program. Read the full blog for more insights.
Deploy24 Updates: Featured Speakers Announced!
Hosted by the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), the DOE Office of the Under Secretary for Infrastructure, and LPO, Demonstrate Deploy Decarbonize 2024 (#Deploy24) is the second annual gathering of leaders, experts, and decision-makers from across the private sector, government, and broader stakeholder ecosystem focused on accelerating deployment of clean energy and decarbonization technologies and enabling supply chains in the United States.
Deploy24 is a unique gathering where clean energy decision-makers will meet to not just talk about deployment, but to leverage their expertise, build upon the foundational insights of DOE’s Pathways to Commercial Liftoff reports, and workshop real-world solutions to deployment challenges across key clean technology investment sectors.
Be sure to follow Demonstrate Deploy Decarbonize on LinkedIn to stay up to date on the latest #Deploy24 news ahead of December 4th and go to DeployTogether.com for more details and to register today!
LPO's latest Monthly Application Activity Report (MAAR)?tracks key metrics for active applications across 14 LPO major technology sectors and proposed project locations across the United States through August 31, 2024.
Also featured in the MAAR is LPO's latest estimated remaining loan authority for our financing programs, also as of August 31, 2024:
The Energy Act of 2020 and the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) of 2022 directed LPO to engage in outreach activities through conferences and online programs to disseminate information about its programs. Below is an overview of major upcoming events. See LPO's full events calendar at:?Energy.gov/LPO/Events
领英推荐
Recent Events
The LPO team participated in multiple events and active outreach during last week's RE+ 2024 event in Anaheim, CA.? LPO Director Jigar Shah spoke as part of the Master Speaker Series on the critical role of DERs in meeting load growth demands while LPO staff participated in various panels to discuss renewable energy, virtual power plant (VPP), storage projects, and Tribal energy projects with stakeholders and potential applicants from across the country. If you would like to follow up with LPO after RE+, let's continue the conversation!? Go to Energy.gov/LPO to learn more and to request a pre-application consultation!
Earlier this month, LPO Director Jigar Shah joined other DOE leaders and experts for a discussion of the latest DOE Pathways to Commercial Liftoff Topic Brief entitled "How Clean Energy is the Solution to Rising Electricity Demand". Download the topic brief and watch the recording here.
Major Upcoming Events
The time has arrived! REGISTRATION IS NOW OPEN for #Deploy24! Don't delay—discounted early adopter registration ends October 31st! Go to DeployTogether.com for more details, register today, and let's #DeployTogether this December!
A sampling of recent third-party media and podcast mentions of LPO and the LPO Team:
Sign up for clean energy financing updates from LPO
Subscribe to LPO's monthly email newsletter to stay up to date with the latest from the U.S. Department of Energy Loan Programs Office, including announcements about our financing programs, news about our portfolio projects, and ways to engage with our team about your project!
Network with LPO
Join a larger network of clean energy financing experts by following the?U.S. Department of Energy Loan Programs Office on LinkedIn.
LPO's Financing Programs
Learn more about all of LPO's financing programs at:?Energy.gov/LPO/Financing-Programs
Title 17 Clean Energy Financing (via the 1703 & 1706/EIR Programs)
Advanced Transportation Financing?(via the ATVM Program)
Tribal Energy Financing (via the TEFP Program)
CO2 Transportation Infrastructure Financing?(via the CIFIA?program)
Contact LPO to see what financing options may be available for your project, email [email protected] with questions, and go to Energy.gov/LPO/Pre-App?to schedule a no-fee, no-commitment pre-application consultation. Let's talk about your project!