Powering Affordable Clean Energy (PACE) Program

 

The Powering Affordable Clean Energy (PACE) Program is intended to provide loans to qualified applicants to finance power generation projects for Renewable Energy Resource systems or Energy Storage Systems that support Renewable Energy Resource projects. The goal of the PACE Program is to support clean, affordable energy growth across America. The PACE Program provides loans to eligible entities, with varying levels of loan forgiveness, for projects that generate and/or store electricity from renewable energy resources.

Active 10.757 Rural Utilities Service, Department of Agriculture E - Direct Loans Not applicable. Section 22001 of the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022 amends Section 9003 of the Farm Security and Rural Investment Act of 2002 (7 U.S.C. 8103) by adding at the end subsection (h). Section 22001 of the IRA provides RUS with $1,000,000,000 in budget authority “for the cost of loans under Section 317 of the Rural Electrification Act of 1936 (7 U.S.C. Section 940g).” Additionally, Section 22001 of the IRA provides that PACE funds may be utilized to finance projects that store electricity generated from renewable energy sources, provided the PACE applicant and the project otherwise meets the requirements of RE Act Section 317., Title The Inflation Reduction Act of 2022, Section 22001, Public Law 117-169 Rural electric cooperatives, federally recognized Tribes, public utility districts, municipalities, corporations, and other qualified entities which generate and/or store electricity generated from renewable energy resources. Not applicable. Applicants must provide the following: a Letter of Interest; a loan application letter; articles of incorporation and bylaws or other applicable governing and organizational documents; environmental and historical preservation compliance documentation; a financial forecast; a power purchase agreement; power resources owned, co-owned, or leased documentation, power purchase contracts; power sales contracts; an engineering report; project contracting documentation; interconnection agreements documentation; system impact studies; transmission service agreements; meteorological data and studies; fuel and fuel transportation strategies documentation; sources and uses of water documentation; real estate agreements; a community benefit plan; a Tribal government resolution of consent certification; and other documents as required by the NOFO and 7 CFR 1710.501. Preapplication coordination is required. An environmental impact statement is required for this listing. An environmental impact assessment is required for this listing. 2 CFR 200, Uniform Administrative Requirements, Cost Principles, and Audit Requirements for Federal Awards applies to this program. Step 1) An eligible entity may submit an LOI as described in the NOFO; Step 2) If the applicant is invited to proceed, the applicant must submit a completed application with the documentation required by the NOFO. RUS will evaluate and review each PACE award application as provided in this NOFO and 7 CFR Part 1710 subpart D. The Administrator may approve any PACE award and obligate the award subject to environmental approval as provided in 7 CFR 1970.11(b). Further, the Administrator may approve a PACE award but condition any advance on the PACE applicant meeting specific requirements. A successful PACE Award applicant will receive a Conditional Commitment Letter from the Administrator notifying it of the total award amount approved by RUS; any additional controls on its financial, investment, operational and managerial activities; acceptable security arrangements; and such other conditions deemed necessary by the Administrator to adequately secure the Government's interest and ensure repayment. RUS will disburse funds to awardee in accordance with the terms of the executed Award documents. All award funds will be disbursed as a reimbursement for eligible program costs after the Project is complete and its performance verified in a manner that is sufficient to RUS in RUS' discretion. July 10, 2023 to September 29, 2023 Beginning at 11:59AM Eastern thirty (30) days after the date of publication in the Federal Register, Letters of Interest (LOIs) can be submitted through the RUS on-line application portal until 11:59 AM Eastern ninety (90) days after the date of publication in the Federal Register. LOIs will not be accepted after ninety (90) days after the date of publication in the federal register unless the Administrator of the RUS has determined in writing that an applicant has presented compelling circumstances to allow submission after the deadline above. LOIs will be accepted on a rolling basis and evaluated as received based on the criteria described in this NOFO. A PACE applicant that has been invited in writing by RUS to proceed with the loan application, as provided in this NOFO, will have up to sixty (60) to complete the documentation for a complete application. The sixty (60) day timeframe will begin from the date the PACE applicant receives an email with RUS' Invitation to Proceed. If the deadline to submit the completed application falls on Saturday, Sunday, or a federal holiday, the application is due the next business day. The Administrator may grant an extension of time to complete the documentation required for an application if, in the Administrator's sole judgment, extraordinary circumstances prevented the PACE applicant from completing the application within the timeframe herein stipulated 60 days). Not applicable. Not applicable. Not applicable. RUS will evaluate the LOIs based on five criteria: 1) application eligibility; 2) project eligibility; 3) financial status; 4) geographic diversity; and 5) allocation of awards among categories. RUS will evaluate the completed application packages based on five criteria: 1) financial coverage ratios; 2) financial equity requirements; 3) community benefit plan; 4) environmental review; and 5) loan forgiveness minimum requirements. A portfolio of actions, including facilities used to generate electricity from a Renewable Energy Resource, and/or facilities that stores electricity that support the types of Renewable Energy Resources that are eligible to be financed with PACE Program loan funds, as provided in Section 22001 of the IRA and Section 317 of the RE Act. Performance Reports: RUS will establish periodic reporting requirements. These will be enumerated in the loan documents. Awardees will be required to prepare and furnish to RUS, at least once during each 12-month period, a full and complete report of its financial condition, operations, and cash flows, in form and substance satisfactory to RUS, audited and certified by an independent certified public accountant, satisfactory to RUS, and accompanied by a report of such audit, in form and substance satisfactory to RUS. Audits must follow governmental auditing standards issued by the Comptroller General of the United States (GAGAS). Check 1767 Subpart D. Statutory formula is not applicable to this assistance listing.

Matching requirements are not applicable to this assistance listing.

MOE requirements are not applicable to this assistance listing. All loan funds must be disbursed on or before September 30, 2031. RUS will make loans to the PACE applicant under the PACE Program for a term not to exceed the lesser of the expected useful life of the Project, the term of the Power Purchase Agreement (if required for execution between the applicant and the Off-Taker), the term of the lease for the land that the project will occupy (if such land is not owned by the applicant), the expiration dates of power supply arrangements between the applicant and its members should the applicant provide the power supply needs of the members under such power supply arrangements, the loan term requested by the applicant or 35 years. None/Not specified. Christopher McLean
1400 Independence Ave., Stop 1560

Washington, DC 20250 US
christopher.mclean@wdc.usda.gov
Phone: 2027209545 12-1230-1-0-271 (Direct Loans) FY 22 Estimate Not Available FY 23 est $250,000,000.00; FY 24 est $750,000,000.00; - As PACE is a new program, amounts for Past Fiscal Years are not applicable. For Fiscal Years 23&24, the maximum amount of any individual award is $100,000,000 and the minimum amount of any individual award is $1,000,000. The PACE Program will be carried out by the RUS pursuant to Section 22001 of the IRA of 2022. Section 22001 of the IRA amends 7 USC Section 8103 by adding a subchapter (h) and provides that $1,000,000,000 in budget authority is "for the cost of loans under Section 317 of the Rural Electrification Act of 1936 (7 U.S.C. Section 940g)". Not applicable.