1. What is the maximum amount of the DOE loan guarantee program funds that could be awarded under this solicitation?
2. When does the loan guarantee authority under Section 1705 expire?
3. To what types of projects does this solicitation specifically apply?
4. What is meant by standard commercial terms?
5. What is the purpose of the Part I submission?
6. Does DOE's Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NOPR) issued in the Federal Register on August 7, 2009 relating to loan guarantees for projects that employ innovative technologies apply to or affect the Electric Power Transmission Infrastructure Investment Projects Solicitation issued under Section 1705 of Title XVII which seeks applications for such projects utilizing commercial technology?
7. What is the application schedule?

DOE is making available up to $750,000,000 in appropriated Recovery Act funds under this Solicitation to pay the Credit Subsidy Costs of loan guarantees for Transmission Infrastructure Investment Projects.

The authority to enter into guarantees under Section 1705 expires on September 30, 2011. This Solicitation is specifically designed to provide loan guarantees to support those Transmission Infrastructure Investment Projects that are the most assured of commencing construction, and hence having a loan guarantee issued, no later than September 30, 2011.

Eligible Projects under the Solicitation shall consist of complex electric transmission systems projects in the United States that will 1) utilize a Commercial Technology; 2) commence construction on or before September 30, 2011; 3) meet all applicable requirements of Title XVII, including Section 1705, the Recovery Act, as well the Solicitation; 4) cannot be financed from private sources on standard commercial terms and, 5) meet at least one of the following criteria:

1. The project involves new or upgraded lines of at least 100 miles of 500 kilovolts (kV) or higher or 150 miles of 345 kV
2. The project has at least 30 miles of transmission cable under water
3. The project has a high voltage direct current (DC) component
4. The project is a major interregional connector
5. The project is designated as a National Interest Electric Transmission Corridor by DOE under the Energy Policy Act of 2005, Pub. L. No. 109-58 (EPAct)
6. The project is associated with offshore generation, such as open ocean wave energy, ocean thermal, or offshore wind
7. The project mitigates a substantial reliability risk for a major population center
8. A set of improvements to an integrated system within a State or region that together aggregate to meet the criteria in item 1 above of this question

Projects that support the generation of power from renewable energy sources will receive special consideration.

To meet the requirements delineated in Section II.A(ii) of the Solicitation for an Eligible Project, Applicants must provide an affirmative statement, with corroborating evidence, that financing for its proposed project is not available from the private markets in the amounts and on terms to which it or companies or projects of similar creditworthiness have had access under normal economic conditions in the past. Examples of an inability to obtain financings on such terms might include:

• Inability to obtain the required dollar amounts in a sufficiently timely manner to meet the timing requirements of the Recovery Act (i.e., begin physical construction by September 30, 2011)
• Evidence that the interest rate spread (spread of required interest rate over a market benchmark rate, such as 30-year US Treasury bonds) for desired quantities of financing is higher than historically experienced by the Applicant or by borrowers with creditworthiness similar to that of Applicant or the proposed project, or that fixed-rate financing is not available when desired
• Evidence that the maturity, call provisions, or other terms and conditions required for financing for the proposed project are more onerous than historically experienced by the Applicant or by other borrowers or projects of similar creditworthiness

The primary purpose of the Part I submission is to enable DOE to make a determination about the eligibility of the proposed project and to identify and accelerate the review of strong projects, with substantial progress or likelihood to commence construction by September 30, 2011. After DOE has evaluated an applicant's Part I submission, DOE will notify the applicant of its eligibility determination concerning the proposed project, as well as its perception of the project's readiness to proceed and commence construction. Such information will assist applicants in making a self-selecting decision as to whether they wish to proceed with the cost and effort of completing a full application, including a Part II submission which will be competitively evaluated against other Part II submissions filed during the same round of review.

If final rules are promulgated after comments on the NOPR are taken into consideration, DOE expects to evaluate, as a matter of policy, the provisions set forth in Attachment G to the Solicitation that are applicable to Electric Power Transmission Infrastructure Investment Project in light of any such final rules and with appropriate inter-agency consultation.

The following table summarizes the application schedule: