Photo by Tony Webster / Creative Commons https://tinyurl.com/ydg367gm
The U.S. Department of Energy will provide $2 billion in partial loan guarantees to Native American and Alaska Native communities for energy development projects, the DOE announced Tuesday.
The DOE Loan Programs Office is accepting applications through the Tribal Energy Loan Guarantee Program (TELGP) for projects involving renewables, energy storage, cogeneration, fossil energy production, transmission infrastructure, energy resource extraction, refining or processing and distributed energy portfolios.
TELGP, authorized by the Energy Policy Act of 2005, provides partial loan guarantees to leverage private sector lending and help increase the availability of commercial debt financing in tribal energy markets—rather than replace existing debt markets—for commercial technologies.
“The department has heard from tribes that they can have difficulty accessing the debt capital necessary to finance energy development projects that will benefit Indian Country,” Energy Secretary Rick Perry said in a statement. TELGP will collaborate with private lenders “to help them better understand the unique characteristics of tribal energy opportunities,” Perry said.
Senator John Hoeven (R-North Dakota), Chairman of the Senate Indian Affairs Committee, expressed his satisfaction to see the DOE commit to investing in Indian energy production. “This tribal energy loan guarantee program will help Indian tribes develop their energy resources and create economic opportunities for tribal communities,” he said.
Tina Danforth, President of the Native American Finance Officers Association (NAFOA), echoed her support: “Deploying $2 billion in loan guarantees will strengthen tribal economies through private sector investment in a wide range of energy projects and activities.”
The deadline for Part 1 applications is September 19. Subsequent follow every other month. Potential applicants are encouraged to seek a pre-application consultation with LPO staff by emailing TELGP@hq.doe.gov.
