[Federal Register Volume 73, Number 45 (Thursday, March 6, 2008)]
[Notices]
[Pages 12070-12073]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E8-4305]


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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 the 
United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) Rural Development, 
announces it is accepting applications for fiscal year (FY) 2008 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 
and loan guarantees. In addition to stand-alone grants and loan 
guarantees, applicants may apply for combination loan guarantee and 
grant funding (combination package).
    For renewable energy systems, the minimum grant is $2,500 and the 
maximum is $500,000. For energy efficiency improvements, the minimum 
grant is $1,500 and the maximum is $250,000. Funding for grant and loan 
combination packages will be funded from the same allocation as loan 
guarantees. Fifty percent of the appropriated grant funding will be 
reserved for the first grant-only competition. Any unused grant only 
funds from the first competition will be made available for the second 
grant-only competition.
    The maximum amount of a guarantee to be provided to a borrower will 
be $10 million. For FY 2008, the guarantee fee amount is 1 percent of 
the guaranteed portion of the loan and the annual renewal fee is 0.250 
percent (one-quarter of one percent) of the guaranteed portion of the 
loan.
    For FY 2008, the following are the funds provided by Congress for 
the Section 9006 program: For grants, $15,888,000, and for loans, 
$204,953,560.

DATES: The USDA will issue one grant solicitation for two separate 
competitions in FY 2008. Competitive deadlines will occur in accordance 
with deadlines as follows:

Grants

    For the first competitive window, complete (see 7 CFR 4280.111) 
grant-only applications, must be submitted to the appropriate USDA 
Rural Development State Office no later than April 15, 2008. For the 
second competitive window, complete (see 7 CFR 4280.111) grant-only 
applications must be submitted to the appropriate USDA Rural 
Development State Office no earlier than April 16, 2008, and no later 
than June 16, 2008. Applications submitted under the first competition 
that are not selected will automatically be considered under the second 
competition, using the materials and score from the first competition 
(i.e., no changes to scored applications will be accepted). It is 
anticipated that two grant award announcements will be made. The first 
announcement is anticipated prior to June 16, 2008, and the second, 
prior to September 16, 2008.

Guaranteed Loans

    Complete guaranteed loan applications will be accepted and 
processed, until June 16, 2008, in a rolling application manner. 
Applications for loan guarantees must be completed and submitted to the 
appropriate USDA Rural Development State Office no later than June 16, 
2008. No application received in the State Office after June 16, 2008, 
will be considered.

Combination Packages

    Complete combination packages will be accepted and processed, until 
June 16, 2008. Once funds become available, combination packages will 
be evaluated on a bi-weekly basis. Combination applications must be 
completed and submitted to the appropriate USDA Rural Development State 
Office no later than June 16, 2008. No application received after June 
16, 2008, will be considered.
    Any unused funding as of August 15, 2008, may be pooled and revert 
to grant money. All submissions must be

[[Page 12071]]

received at the applicable office by 4:30 p.m. local time on the 
deadline date.
    The application closing deadlines for grant, loan guarantee, and 
combination packages are firm. USDA Rural Development will not consider 
any application that is received after the closing deadline. In 
addition to the application requirements stated in 7 CFR part 4280-B, a 
complete application will include all environmental review documents 
with supporting documentation in accordance with 7 CFR part 1940 
subpart G. The application must be complete 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

Quinton Harris, USDA Rural Development, Sterling Centre, Suite 601, 
4121 Carmichael Road, Montgomery, AL 36106-3683, (334) 279-3623

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

Tim Smith, 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, 
Gainesville, FL 32606, (352) 338-3482

Georgia

J. Craig Scroggs, USDA Rural Development, 111 E. Spring St., Suite 
B, Monroe, GA 30655, Phone 770-267-1413 ext. 113

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

David Kramer, USDA Rural Development, 1303 SW First American Place, 
Suite 100, Topeka, KS 66604-4040, (785) 271-2744

Kentucky

Scott Maas, 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

Charles W. Dubuc, USDA Rural Development, 60 Quaker Lane, Suite 44, 
Warwick, RI 02886, (401) 826-0842

Michigan

Traci J. Smith, USDA Rural Development, 3001 Coolidge Road, Suite 
200, East Lansing, MI 48823, (517) 324-5225

Minnesota

Lisa L. 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

Debra Yocum, USDA Rural Development, 100 Centennial Mall North, Room 
152, Federal Building, Lincoln, NE 68508, (402) 437-5554

Nevada

Herb Shedd, USDA Rural Development, 1390 South Curry Street, Carson 
City, NV 89703, (775) 887-1222

New Hampshire (See Vermont)

New Jersey

 Victoria Fekete, USDA Rural Development, 8000 Midlantic Drive, 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

 Dennis Rodin, 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

 Shannon Legree, USDA Rural Development, Strom Thurmond Federal 
Building, 1835

[[Page 12072]]

Assembly Street, Room 1007, Columbia, SC 29201, (803) 765-5881

South Dakota

 Douglas Roehl, USDA Rural Development, Federal Building, Room 210, 
200 4th Street, SW., Huron, SD 57350, (605) 352-1145

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, 
101 South Main Street, Temple, TX 76501, (254) 742-9756

Utah

 Roger Koon, USDA Rural Development, Wallace F. Bennett Federal 
Building, 125 South State Street, Room 4311, Salt Lake City, UT 
84138, (801) 524-4301

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

Mary Traxler, 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

Mark Brodziski, USDA Rural Development, 4949 Kirschling Court, 
Stevens Point, WI 54481, (715) 345-7600, Ext. 131

Wyoming

Jon Crabtree, USDA Rural Development, Dick Cheney Federal Building, 
100 East B Street, Room 1005, P.O. Box 820, Casper, WY 82602, (307) 
233-6719


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 (Section 9006). 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 percentages of funding that USDA 
Rural Development will provide. Grants under this program will not 
exceed 25 percent of the eligible project costs. Loan guarantees will 
not exceed 50 percent of the eligible project costs. Funding approved 
for combination guaranteed loan and grant 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. The definition of ``pre-
commercial'' and ``commercial'' are at 7 CFR 4280.103. The Agency's 
position is that if the system is currently commercially available only 
outside the United States (U.S.), then applicants must provide 
authoritative evidence of the foreign operating history, performance, 
and reliability in order to address the proven operating history 
identified in the definition. ``Commercial'' 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. In order to 
demonstrate the system has emerged through research and development as 
well as the demonstration process, applicants must provide, 
authoritative evidence of the operating history, performance, and 
reliability past completion of start-up, shake-down, and/or 
commissioning. Typically, and inline with financial and operating 
performance evaluation protocol, the documented operating history, 
which may be established domestically or outside the U.S., should 
provide performance data for a minimum of 12 months. The time period 
will address the economic and technical performance potential 
identified in 7 CFR 4280.103.
    In accordance with demonstrating the potential for commercial 
application, applicants must provide evidence that professional service 
providers, trades, large construction equipment providers, and 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, demonstrated technical feasibility, and are complete will be 
eligible for funding consideration.
    State Offices will submit eligible grant funding requests, with the 
State Office executed score sheets, including all 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 will be received and 
processed, on a rolling basis, until June 16, 2008, or funds are 
exhausted, whichever occurs first.
     Combination packages will also be received and processed 
on a rolling basis until June 16, 2008. However, due to the grant 
component, competitive scoring of combination packages will take place 
on a bi-weekly basis. Awards will be announced based on the bi-weekly 
competition schedule until funds are exhausted or there are no 
remaining qualified applicants. Combination applications may only be 
submitted by applicants that demonstrate financial need. Combination 
applicants that are approved for funding must accept and utilize both 
the loan and the grant. In addition, to ensure equitable competition, 
and high quality projects, the grant portion of any combination package 
must score at least 70 percent of the available points (minimum of 84 
points), of which at least 24 points must be for technical merit. Only 
those combination packages that demonstrate financial need and score a 
sufficient amount of grant points will be considered for funding. 
Applications that do not meet these thresholds may be resubmitted as a 
guaranteed loan only application.

[[Page 12073]]

    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 4:30 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: February 29, 2008.
Ben Anderson,
Administrator, Rural Business-Cooperative Service.
 [FR Doc. E8-4305 Filed 3-4-08; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3410-XY-P