The Department of Energy will begin approving loan guarantees for renewable energy projects by the end of April or the beginning of May, according to Energy Secretary Steven Chu.
The stimulus package signed by President Obama on Tuesday includes $6 billion in loan guarantees for clean energy and electricity transmission projects. The guarantees assure lending institutions that the government will repay loans, if the project developers default.
Reuters reported that Chu said the Energy Department is looking to streamline the approval process and has reduced the application to 50 pages–down from 500 to 1000 pages.
The department reportedly has brought in an expert from the private sector to manage the acceleration of the loan guarantee program.
"We’re looking at the loans in progress, we think we can accelerate them greatly and get them out the door very soon," Chu said after a speech at the National Association of Regulatory Utility Commissioners’s winter conference.
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Wow, the renewable energy industry must be pretty shaky if a government guarantee is needed to get a loan!