GRANT ANNOUNCEMENTS AUGUST 2007

High Energy Cost Grant Projects

Eligibility

1. You must be an eligible applicant;
2. The grant project must serve an eligible extremely high energy cost community;
3. The proposed project must improve energy generation, transmission, or distribution facilities serving an eligible community; and
4. The administrative costs of the project must not exceed 4 percent of grant funds.

Who Is an Eligible Applicant?

1. a legally-organized for-profit or nonprofit organization such as, but not limited to, a corporation, association, partnership (including a limited liability partnership), cooperative, or trust;
2. a sole proprietorship;
3. a State or local government, or any agency or instrumentality of a State or local government, including a municipal utility or public power authority;
4. an Indian tribe, a tribally-owned entity, an Alaska Native Corporation;
5. an individual or group of individuals; or
6. any of the above entities located in a U.S. Territory or other area authorized by law to participate in programs of the Rural Utilities Service or under the Rural Electrification Act.

The Denali Commission and Alaska Energy Authority request Letters of Interest (LOI) for developing alternative-renewable energy and energy efficiency projects in Alaska. The Commission and AEA want to create an inventory of these types of projects that are in or are moving toward development, so we can design programs that provide technical and/or financial assistance to potential project developers. The LOIs are due by 5:00 pm Friday August 31, 2007.

• Notice of LOI
• LOI FAQ
• LOI Form for Submission (pdf version)
• LOI Form for Submission (Word version)

3)    USDA Small Business Innovation and Research (SBIR):  Applications are due by September 5th. 

http://www.csrees.usda.gov/fo/sbir.cfm

Funds may be awarded up to $80,000 for Phase I and up to $350,000 for Phase II. Success rates for applicants have been about 15% for Phase I and 50-60% for Phase II. Projects dealing with agriculturally related manufacturing and alternative and renewable energy technologies are encouraged across all 2008 SBIR topic areas.

4)    USDA Renewable Energy - Energy Efficiency (RE-EE) Program update on large loan guarantee projects.  This article includes examples of utilization of the USDA Business & Industry (B&I) Loan Guarantee Program with RE-EE financing for financing wood pellet operations and biodiesel plants.

USDA AWARDS $97 MILLION FOR RENEWABLE ENERGY PROJECTS  http://www.usda.gov/wps/portal?contentidonly=true&contentid=2007/08/0223.xml   (Though this news release in some instances refers to a 'loan' these are in fact loan guarantees.)

 

OTHER INFORMATION RESOURCES

 

1)    Environmental and Energy Study Institute: http://www.eesi.org/about/about.htm 

The Environmental and Energy Study Institute (EESI) is a non-profit organization dedicated to promoting environmentally sustainable societies. EESI believes meeting this goal requires transitions to social and economic patterns that sustain people, the environment and the natural resources upon which present and future generations depend. EESI produces credible, timely information and innovative public policy initiatives that lead to these transitions. These products take the form of publications, briefings, work shops and task forces.  EESI was founded in 1984 by a bipartisan group of Members of Congress concerned about energy and environmental issues.  Fact sheets on various topics are found at: http://www.eesi.org/programs/energyandclimate/EEREFactSheetsIndex.html

2)    The EERE Network News is available on the Web at: www.eere.energy.gov/news/enn.cfm

Excerpts:

DOE Launches Round 3 of its Industrial Energy Assessments

A DOE program that has performed energy assessments at 253 industrial plants throughout the United States is ready for more. The Industrial Technology Program's "Save Energy Now" campaign began accepting applications for its third round of energy assessments on Monday. Save Energy Now assessments primarily focus on energy-intensive components and systems, such as fans, pumps, and systems for process heating, steam, and compressed air. To date, the assessments have resulted in annual energy savings of nearly $63 million, and currently planned projects are expected to yield another $263 million in annual energy savings. If all the measures identified by the energy assessments were implemented, they would yield an annual cost savings of more than $574 million per year. In other words, each assessment has identified, on average, roughly $2.27 million in energy savings. DOE will make its initial selections of industrial plants for energy assessments starting in mid-September, and additional selections will be announced periodically until the target of 250 assessments is reached for the calendar year 2008. See the Save Energy Now Web site

Utilities Begin Earnest Pursuit of Nuclear Power Construction

Now that the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) has successfully revamped and restarted its Browns Ferry Unit 1—the first essentially new nuclear reactor startup in 11 years—utilities and energy companies throughout the country are seriously pursuing the construction of new nuclear power plants. TVA took the first step, announcing on August 1st that its board has approved completing the Watts Bar Unit 2 power plant in Tennessee. The five-year construction project is expected to cost $2.49 billion. See the TVA press release.

On August 9th, NRG Energy, Inc. signed an agreement with Toshiba Corporation to help build two new nuclear reactors at its South Texas Project. The reactors are slated to begin operating in 2014 and 2015. NRG Energy also reserved the major long-lead-time components for the project, including the first reactor vessel. Entergy Nuclear has taken a similar approach, ordering major components to enable it to build a nuclear plant in Grand Gulf, Mississippi, by 2017. And last week, Florida Power & Light Company (FPL) announced its plans to pursue building two new reactors at its Turkey Point nuclear complex, while adding new capacity to its existing Turkey Point and St. Lucie nuclear plants. The two new plants would provide 3,000 megawatts of new generating capacity by 2020. See the press releases from NRG Energy (PDF 96 KB), Entergy Nuclear, and FPL. Download Adobe Reader.

 

 

The following is a list of funding sources that may be considered for VPSO housing projects:

Alaska Housing Finance / Denali Commission

Teacher, Health Professional & Public Safety Housing Program - theis program provides a grant to develop housing in rural Alaska for public safety officials (VPSO’s), teachers, health professionals.
Grant ceiling: none Grant due date: open

Alaska Housing Finance

Single-Family Home Loan program - mortgage loans for single-family homes through four-plex properties.

Alaska Housing Finance

Rural Owner Occupied Loan program - financing to purchase, construct, or renovate owner occupied housing in small communities.

Alaska Housing Finance

Non-Conforming Program - is available for certain properties for which financing may not be available through private, state, or federal mortgage programs.

Alaska Housing Finance

Public Housing – affordable public housing and access to supportive services to low-income Alaskans.

USDA Rural Development

Single Family Housing Program - offer two types of homeownership loans: guaranteed and direct. The program provides financing – with no down payment and at favorable terms and rates – either through a direct loan or a loan from a private financial institution guaranteed by RHS.

USDA Rural Development

Rural Housing native American Pilot Loan - the program is viable for restricted Alaskan Native tribal lands. 

To develop VPSO housing through grant funding, the programs numbers: 1 to 4 are the best source of funding. The balance of programs are loan or loan guarantee programs. 

**Note that the due dates for the grant funded programs, with the exception of the Denali Commission, are the last week of May thru the first week of June 2007. 

 

The following is a list of funding sources that may be considered for an Elders housing project:

Alaska Housing Finance

Single-family Home Loan program – mortgage loans for single-family homes in 4-plex properties.

Alaska Housing Finance

Non-Conforming Program - is available for certain properties for which financing may not be available through private, state, or federal mortgage programs.

Alaska Housing Finance

Public Housing – affordable public housing and access to supportive services to low-income Alaska Natives.

USDA Rural Development

Rural Housing Native American Pilot Loan - the program is viable for restricted Alaskan Native tribal lands. 

To develop Elders housing through grant funding, the programs numbers: 1 to 3 are the best source of funding. Number 4 can be used for the planning process. The balance of programs are loan or loan guarantee programs.
**Note that the due dates for the grant funded programs are the last week of May thru the first week of June 2007.

 

For more information or to discuss technical assistance, please contact us.

 

Contact us:

Location: 647 Airforce Road, Suite 237, King Salmon, Alaska 99613

Mailing Address: PO Box 742, King Salmon, Alaska 99613

Telephone: 907-246-3901

Fax: 907-246-3902

Toll Free Calls: 888-616-3983

 

Our Staff:

William N. Miller, Manager: wnmillergrantwriter@yahoo.com

Chris Todd, Consultant: fscat8@yahoo.ca

Rebecca Hamon, Consultant: rhamonbiz@yahoo.com