[Federal Register: March 22, 2007 (Volume 72, Number 55)]
[Notices]
[Page 13470-13473]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr22mr07-33]
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DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE
Rural Business--Cooperative Service
Inviting Applications for Renewable Energy Systems and Energy
Efficiency Improvements Grants and Guaranteed Loans
AGENCY: Rural Business--Cooperative Service (RBS), USDA
ACTION: Notice.
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SUMMARY: Rural Business--Cooperative Service (RBS), an Agency within
USDA Rural Development, announces it is accepting applications for
fiscal year (FY) 2007 to purchase renewable energy systems and make
energy efficiency improvements for agriculture producers and rural
small businesses in eligible rural areas. Funding will be available in
the form of grants, guaranteed loans, and combined guaranteed loans and
grant applications.
For renewable energy systems, the minimum grant request is $2,500
and the maximum is $500,000. For energy efficiency improvements, the
minimum grant request is $1,500 and the maximum is $250,000. The
maximum amount of a guaranteed loan made to a borrower will be $10
million. Fifty percent of the available grant funding will be reserved
for the grant portion of combination grant and guaranteed loan
applications. For FY 2007, the guarantee fee amount is 1 percent of the
guaranteed portion of the loan and the annual renewal fee is 0.125
percent (one-eighth of one percent) of the guaranteed portion of the
loan.
DATES: The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) will conduct
one competitive grant solicitation in FY 2007.
[[Page 13471]]
Grants
Applications must be completed and submitted to the appropriate
USDA Rural Development State Office no later than May 18, 2007. Any
unused guaranteed loan funding as of August 1, 2007, may be pooled and
revert to grant funding. It is anticipated that grant award
announcements will be made approximately 75 days following the
submission deadline.
Guaranteed Loans and Combined Guaranteed Loans and Grants
Applications for guaranteed loans as well as combined guaranteed
loan and grant packages must be completed and submitted to the
appropriate USDA Rural Development State Office no later than July 2,
2007. Combined guaranteed loan and grant packages will compete and be
awarded on a bi-weekly basis. Guaranteed loan applications will be
accepted and processed in a rolling application manner.
The application closing deadlines for grants, guaranteed loans and
combined guaranteed loan and grant packages are firm. USDA Rural
Development will not consider any application that is received after
the closing deadline. In accordance with RD Instruction 1940-G, all
environmental assessments must be completed before the State Office
forwards the application to the National Office for funding
consideration.
ADDRESSES: Submit applications to the USDA Rural Development State
Office in the State where your project is located. A list of the USDA
Rural Development State Offices and Energy Coordinators addresses and
telephone numbers follow. For further information about this
solicitation, please contact the applicable State Office. This document
is available on our Web site at http://www.rurdev.usda.gov/rbs/farmbill/index.html
.
USDA State Rural Development Offices
Alabama
Mary Ann Clayton, USDA Rural Development, Sterling Centre, Suite 601,
4121 Carmichael Road, Montgomery, AL 36106-3683, (334) 279-3615.
Alaska
Dean Stewart, USDA Rural Development, 800 West Evergreen, Suite 201,
Palmer, AK 99645-6539, (907) 761-7722.
Arizona
Alan Watt, USDA Rural Development, 230 North First Avenue, Suite 206,
Phoenix, AZ 85003-1706, (602) 280-8769.
Arkansas
Shirley Tucker, USDA Rural Development, 700 West Capitol Avenue, Room
3416, Little Rock, AR 72201-3225, (501) 301-3280.
California
Charles Clendenin, USDA Rural Development, 430 G Street, AGCY 4169,
Davis, CA 95616, (530) 792-5825.
Colorado
April Dahlager, USDA Rural Development, 655 Parfet Street, Room E-100,
Lakewood, CO 80215, (720) 544-2909.
Delaware-Maryland
James Waters, USDA Rural Development, 1221 College Park Drive, Suite
200, Dover, DE 19904, (302) 857-3626.
Florida/Virgin Islands
Joe Mueller, USDA Rural Development, 4440 NW. 25th Place, P.O. Box
147010, Gainesville, FL 32614-7010, (352) 338-3482.
Georgia
J. Craig Scroggs, USDA Rural Development, 333 Phillips Drive,
McDonough, GA 30253, (678) 583-0866.
Hawaii
Tim O'Connell, USDA Rural Development, Federal Building, Room 311, 154
Waianuenue Avenue, Hilo, HI 96720, (808) 933-8313.
Idaho
Brian Buch, USDA Rural Development, 725 Jensen Grove Drive, Suite 1,
Blackfoot, ID 83221, (208) 785-5840, Ext. 118.
Illinois
Molly Hammond, USDA Rural Development, 2118 West Park Court, Suite A,
Champaign, IL 61821, (217) 403-6210.
Indiana
Jerry Hay, USDA Rural Development, 2411 N. 1250 W., Deputy, IN 47230,
(812) 873-1100.
Iowa
Teresa Bomhoff, USDA Rural Development, 873 Federal Building, 210
Walnut Street, Des Moines, IA 50309, (515) 284-4447.
Kansas
F. Martin Fee, USDA Rural Development, 1303 SW First American Place,
Suite 100, Topeka, KS 66604-4040, (785) 271-2744.
Kentucky
Scott Mass, USDA Rural Development, 771 Corporate Drive, Suite 200,
Lexington, KY 40503, (859) 224-7435.
Louisiana
Kevin Boone, USDA Rural Development, 905 Jefferson Street, Suite 320,
Lafayette, LA 70501, (337) 262-6601.
Maine
John F. Sheehan, USDA Rural Development, 967 Illinois Avenue, Suite 4,
P.O. Box 405, Bangor, ME 04402-0405, (207) 990-9168.
Massachusetts/Rhode Island/Connecticut
Sharon Colburn, USDA Rural Development, 451 West Street, Suite 2,
Amherst, MA 01002-2999, (413) 253-4303.
Michigan,
Rick Vanderbeek, USDA Rural Development, 3001 Coolidge Road, Suite 200,
East Lansing, MI 48823, (517) 324-5218.
Minnesota
Lisa Noty, USDA Rural Development, 1400 West Main Street, Albert Lea,
MN 56007, (507) 373-7960 Ext. 120.
Mississippi
G. Gary Jones, USDA Rural Development, Federal Building, Suite 831, 100
West Capitol Street, Jackson, MS 39269, (601) 965-5457.
Missouri
Matt Moore, USDA Rural Development, 601 Business Loop 70 West, Parkade
Center, Suite 235, Columbia, MO 65203, (573) 876-9321.
Montana
John Guthmiller, USDA Rural Development, 900 Technology Blvd., Unit 1,
Suite B, P.O. Box 850, Bozeman, MT 59771, (406) 585-2540.
Nebraska
Karissa Hagedorn, USDA Rural Development, 100 Centennial Mall North,
Room 152, Federal Building, Lincoln, NE 68508, (402) 437-5568.
Nevada
Dan Johnson, USDA Rural Development, 555 West Silver Street, Suite 101,
Elko, NV 89801, (775) 738-8468, Ext. 112.
New Hampshire (See Vermont)
New Jersey
Victoria Fekete, USDA Rural Development, 8000 Midlantic Drive,
[[Page 13472]]
5th Floor North, Suite 500, Mt. Laurel, NJ 08054, (856) 787-7753.
New Mexico
Eric Vigil, USDA Rural Development, 6200 Jefferson Street, NE, Room
255, Albuquerque, NM 87109, (505) 761-4952.
New York
Thomas Hauryski, USDA Rural Development, 415 West Morris Street, Bath,
NY 14810, (607) 776-7398 Ext. 132.
North Carolina
H. Rossie Bullock, USDA Rural Development, 4405 Bland Road, Suite 260,
Raleigh, NC 27609, (910) 739-3349 Ext. 4.
North Dakota
Mark Wax, USDA Rural Development, Federal Building, Room 208, 220 East
Rosser Avenue, P.O. Box 1737, Bismarck, ND 58502-1737, (701) 530-2029.
Ohio
Randy Monhemius, USDA Rural Development, Federal Building, Room 507,
200 North High Street, Columbus, OH 43215-2418, (614) 255-2424.
Oklahoma
Jody Harris, USDA Rural Development, 100 USDA, Suite 108, Stillwater,
OK 74074-2654, (405) 742-1036.
Oregon
Don Hollis, USDA Rural Development, 1229 SE Third Street, Suite A,
Pendleton, OR 97801-4198, (541) 278-8049, Ext. 129.
Pennsylvania
Bernard Linn, USDA Rural Development, One Credit Union Place, Suite
330, Harrisburg, PA 17110-2996, (717) 237-2182 .
Puerto Rico
Luis Garcia, USDA Rural Development, IBM Building, 654 Munoz Rivera
Avenue, Suite 601, Hato Rey, PR 00918-6106, (787) 766-5091, Ext. 251.
South Carolina
R. Gregg White, USDA Rural Development, Strom Thurmond Federal
Building, 1835 Assembly Street, Room 1007, Columbia, SC 29201, (803)
765-5881.
South Dakota
Gary Korzan, USDA Rural Development, Federal Building, Room 210, 200
4th Street, SW., Huron, SD 57350, (605) 352-1142.
Tennessee
Will Dodson, USDA Rural Development, 3322 West End Avenue, Suite 300,
Nashville, TN 37203-1084, (615) 783-1350.
Texas
Daniel Torres, USDA Rural Development, Federal Building, Suite 102,
South Main Street, Temple, TX 76501, (254) 742-9756.
Utah
Richard Carrig, USDA Rural Development, Wallace F. Bennett Federal
Building, 125 South State Street, Room 4311, Salt Lake City, UT 84111,
(801) 524-4328.
Vermont/New Hampshire
Lyn Millhiser, USDA Rural Development, City Center, 3rd Floor, 89 Main
Street, Montpelier, VT 05602, (802) 828-6069.
Virginia
Laurette Tucker, USDA Rural Development, Culpeper Building, Suite 238,
1606 Santa Rosa Road, Richmond, VA 23229, (804) 287-1594.
Washington
Tuana Jones, USDA Rural Development, 1835 Black Lake Blvd. SW., Suite
B, Olympia, WA 98512, (360) 704-7707.
West Virginia
Cheryl Wolfe, USDA Rural Development, 75 High Street, Room 320,
Morgantown, WV 26505-7500, (304) 284-4882.
Wisconsin
Kelley Oehler, USDA Rural Development, 4949 Kirschling Court, Stevens
Point, WI 54481, (715) 345-7615, Ext. 141.
Wyoming
Milton Geiger, USDA Rural Development, Dick Cheney Federal Building,
100 East B Street, Room 1005, P.O. Box 820, Casper, WY 82602, (307)
672-5820 Ext. 4.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: This solicitation is issued pursuant to
Section 9006 of the Farm Security and Rural Investment Act of 2002
(2002 Act), which established the Renewable Energy Systems and Energy
Efficiency Improvements Program. The program is designed to help
agricultural producers and rural small businesses reduce energy costs
and consumption and help meet the Nation's critical energy needs. The
2002 Act mandates the maximum percentage USDA Rural Development will
provide in funding for these types of projects. USDA Rural Development
grants under this program will not exceed 25 percent of the eligible
project costs. USDA Rural Development guaranteed loans will not exceed
50 percent of the eligible project costs. USDA Rural Development
combined grant and guaranteed loan funding packages will not exceed 50
percent of eligible project cost, with the grant portion not to exceed
25 percent of eligible project costs.
As stated in 7 CFR 4280.108, projects must be for a pre-commercial
or commercially available technology. In accordance with the definition
of ``commercially available'' found in 7 CFR 4280.103, a proven
operating history specific to the proposed application may be
established domestically or outside of the United States (US). If the
system is available commercially outside the U.S., applicants must
provide authoritative evidence of the operating history, performance,
and reliability. Additionally, applicants must provide evidence that
professional service providers, trades, large construction equipment
providers and labor are readily available domestically and familiar
with installation procedures and practices, and spare parts and service
are readily available in the U.S. to properly maintain and operate the
system. All warranties must be valid in the U.S.
In accordance with the definition of ``pre-commercial'' technology
found in 7 CFR 4280.103, technical and economic potential for
commercial application must be demonstrated to the Agency's
satisfaction through a documented operating history which may be
established domestically or outside of the U.S., specific to the
proposed application and at scalable size. To demonstrate that the
system has emerged through research and development as well as the
demonstration process, applicants must provide to the Agency's
satisfaction, authoritative evidence of the operating history,
performance, and reliability past completion of start-up, shake-down,
and/or commissioning. Typically, and inline with performance evaluation
protocol, the documented operating history should provide performance
data for a duration of 12 months. In accordance with demonstrating the
potential for commercial application, applicants must provide evidence
that professional service providers, trades, large construction
equipment providers, and
[[Page 13473]]
labor are potentially available domestically and sufficiently familiar
with installation procedures and practices, and spare parts and service
are available in the U.S. to properly maintain and operate the system.
Any warranties would have to be valid in the U.S.
Information required to be in the grant application package is
contained in 7 CFR 4280.111. Awards are made on a competitive basis
using specific evaluation criteria contained in 7 CFR 4280.112(e). To
ensure that projects are accurately scored by USDA, applicants are
requested to tab and number each evaluation criteria and include in
that section, its corresponding supporting documentation and
calculations according to 7 CFR 4280.112. Only projects that have
completed the environmental review process according to 7 CFR
4280.114(d), demonstrated project eligibility according to 7 CFR
4280.108, and demonstrated technical feasibility will be eligible for
funding consideration.
State Offices will submit eligible grant funding requests, with the
State Office executed score sheets, including supporting documentation
to the National Office for funding consideration.
To reduce scoring bias by technology and scale, a standard
statistical normalization process will be applied to all competitive
grant application scores. All applicants will be notified by the USDA
Rural Development State Offices of the Agency's decision on the awards.
Information required to be in the guaranteed loan application and
the combination guaranteed loan and grant application package is
contained in 7 CFR 4280.128 and 7 CFR 4280.193(c), respectively.
Guaranteed loan applications are received and processed on a rolling
basis until funds are exhausted. Combined guaranteed loans and grant
packages compete bi-weekly at the national level and are awarded on a
bi-weekly basis until funds are exhausted. All applicants will be
notified by the USDA Rural Development State Offices in regards to the
Agency's decision on their application.
This program is listed in the Catalog of Federal Domestic
Assistance under Number 10.775 and is subject to the provisions of
Executive Order 12372, which requires intergovernmental consultation
with State and local officials.
USDA is participating as a partner in the government-wide
Grants.gov site. Applicants may submit grant-only applications to the
Agency in either electronic or paper format. Please be mindful that the
application deadline for electronic format differs from the deadline
for paper format. The electronic format deadline will be based on
Washington, DC time. The paper format deadline is local time for each
USDA Rural Development State Office.
Users of Grants.gov will be able to download a copy of the
application package, complete it off line, and then upload and submit
the application via the Grants.gov site. You may not e-mail an
electronic copy of a grant application to USDA Rural Development;
however, the Agency encourages your participation in Grants.gov.
When you enter the Grants.gov site, you will find
information about submitting an application electronically through the
site as well as the hours of operation. USDA Rural Development strongly
recommends that you do not wait until the application deadline date to
begin the application process through Grants.gov. To use Grants.gov,
applicants must have a Dun and Bradstreet Data Universal Numbering
System (DUNS) number which can be obtained at no cost via a toll-free
request line at 1-866-705-5711 or online at http://fedgov.dnb.com/webform
.
You may submit all documents electronically through the
Web site, including all information typically included on the
application for Renewable Energy Systems and Energy Efficiency
Improvements Program, and all necessary assurances and certifications.
After electronically submitting an application through the Web site,
the applicant will receive an automatic acknowledgement from Grants.gov
that contains a Grants.gov tracking number.
USDA Rural Development may request that the applicant
provide original signatures on forms at a later date.
If applicants experience technical difficulties on the
closing date and are unable to meet the 5 p.m. (Washington, DC time)
deadline, print out your application and submit it to your respective
State Office. If applicants submit applications to a State Office,
applicants must meet the closing date and local time deadlines.
Applicants may access the electronic grant application for
Renewable Energy Systems and Energy Efficiency Improvements Program at
http://www.Grants.gov.
Please note that applicants must locate the downloadable
application package for this program by the CFDA Number or FedGrants
Funding Opportunity Number, which can be found at http://www.Grants.gov
.
Paperwork Reduction Act
In accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act, the paperwork
burden has been cleared by the Office of Management and Budget (OMB)
under OMB Control Number 0570-0050.
Nondiscrimination Statement
USDA prohibits discrimination in all its programs and activities on
the basis of race, color, national origin, age, disability, and where
applicable, sex, marital status, familial status, parental status,
religion, sexual orientation, genetic information, political beliefs,
reprisal, or because all or part of an individual's income is derived
from any public assistance program. (Not all prohibited bases apply to
all programs.) Persons with disabilities who require alternative means
for communication of program information (braille, large print,
audiotape, etc.) should contact USDA's TARGET Center at (202) 720-2600
(voice and TDD).
To file a complaint of discrimination, write to USDA, Director,
Office of Civil Rights, 1400 Independence Avenue, SW., Washington, DC
20250-9410, or call (800) 795-3272 (voice), or (202) 720-6382 (TDD).
``USDA is an equal opportunity provider, employer, and lender.''
Dated: March 8, 2007.
Ben Anderson,
Acting Administrator, Rural Business--Cooperative Service.
[FR Doc. E7-5198 Filed 3-21-07; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3410-XY-P