§ 4280.129 - Guaranteed loan funding.

§ 4280.129 Guaranteed loan funding.

(a) The amount of the loan that will be made available to an eligible project under this subpart will not exceed 75 percent of Eligible Project Costs. Eligible Project Costs are specified in paragraph (e) of this section. Ineligible project costs are identified in paragraph (f) of this section.

(b) The minimum amount of a guaranteed loan made to a borrower will be $5,000, less any program grant amounts. The maximum amount of a guaranteed loan made to a borrower is $25 million.

(c) The percentage of guarantee, up to the maximum allowed by this section, will be negotiated between the lender and the Agency. The maximum percentage of guarantee is:

(1) 85 percent for loans of $600,000 or less;

(2) 80 percent for loans greater than $600,000 up to and including $5 million;

(3) 70 percent for loans greater than $5 million up to and including $10 million; and

(4) 60 percent for loans greater than $10 million.

(d) The total amount of the loans guaranteed under this subpart to one borrower, including the guaranteed and unguaranteed portion, the outstanding principal, and interest balance of any existing loans guaranteed under this program and the new loan request, must not exceed $25 million.

(e) Eligible Project Costs are only those costs associated with the items identified in § 4280.114(c)(1) through (c)(6) and paragraphs (e)(1) through (6) of this section as long as the items identified in both sets of paragraphs are directly related to the RES or EEI. The Eligible Project Costs identified in paragraphs (e)(1) through (4) of this section cannot exceed more than 5 percent of the loan amount.

(1) Working capital.

(2) Land acquisition.

(3) Routine lender fees, as described in § 4279.120 (c) of this chapter.

(4) Energy Assessments, Energy Audits, technical reports, business plans, and Feasibility Studies completed and acceptable to the Agency, except if any portion was financed by any other Federal or State grant or payment assistance, including, but not limited to, a REAP Energy Assessment or Energy Audit, or REDA grant.

(5) Building and equipment for an existing RES.

(6) Refinancing outstanding debt when the original purpose of the debt being refinanced meets the eligible project requirements of § 4280.128. Existing debt may be refinanced provided that:

(i) The project identified in the application meets the requirements of § 4280.128;

(ii) The debt being refinanced must be less than 50 percent of the overall loan;

(iii) Refinancing is necessary to improve cash flow and viability of the project identified in the application;

(iv) At the time of application, the loan being refinanced has been current for at least the past 12 months (unless such status is achieved by the lender forgiving the borrower's debt); and

(v) The lender is providing better rates or terms for the loan being refinanced.

(f) Ineligible project costs include, but are not limited to costs identified in §§ 4280.114(d)(1), (d)(2), (d)(4) through (d)(9), guaranteeing loans made by other Federal agencies, subordinated owner debt, and loans made with the proceeds of any obligation the interest on which is excludable from income under 26 U.S.C. 103 or a successor statute. Funds generated through the issuance of tax-exempt obligations may neither be used to purchase the guaranteed portion of any Agency guaranteed loan nor may an Agency guaranteed loan serve as collateral for a tax-exempt issue. The Agency may guarantee a loan for a project which involves tax-exempt financing only when the guaranteed loan funds are used to finance a part of the project that is separate and distinct from the part which is financed by the tax-exempt obligation, and the guaranteed loan has at least a parity security position with the tax-exempt obligation.

(g) In determining the amount of a loan awarded, the Agency will take into consideration the criteria specified in § 4280.114(e).

[79 FR 78255, Dec. 29, 2014, as amended at 83 FR 30832, July 2, 2018]