Descripción

The purpose of the Rural Wind Energy Revolving Loan is to assist the funding of wind energy feasibility and transmission interconnection studies for community-based energy developments (C-BEDs). The program will be administered by the Minnesota Department of Commerce Office of Energy Security (OES) in cooperation with the Southwest Initiative Foundation. It will provide loans of up to $100,000 per project with an annual interest rate of 1.5%. Loans must be paid back within 30 days of a project beginning commercial operation or within two years of the date the loan is issued, whichever is sooner. To be eligible for a loan, a project must be owned and structured according to C-BED criteria defined by Minn. Stat. § 216B.1612 and amended by 2007 S.F. 145, Article 4. These criteria are summarized below.
Qualifying Owners:

• a Minnesota resident;
• a limited liability company that is organized under chapter 322B and that is made
  up of members who are Minnesota residents;

• a Minnesota nonprofit organization organized under chapter 317A;
• a Minnesota cooperative association organized under chapter 308A or 308B, including a rural electric cooperative association or a generation and transmission cooperative on behalf of and at the request of a member distribution utility;
• a Minnesota political subdivision or local government including, but not limited to, a municipal electric utility or a municipal power agency on behalf of and at the request of a member distribution utility, a county, statutory or home rule charter city, town, school district, or public or private higher education institution or any other local or regional governmental organization such as a board, commission, or association;
• a tribal council

In addition, in order for a project to be considered community-based:

• 51% of the revenues from the power purchase agreement must flow to Minnesota-based owners and other local entities
• No single wind project investor can own more than 15 percent of a project consisting of more than two turbines, except when the owner is a qualifying public entity that is not a municipal utility
• All owners of property traversed by transmission lines serving the project must be given the opportunity to invest
• The project must have a resolution of support adopted by the county board of each county in which the project is to be located or in the case of a project located within the boundaries of a reservation, the tribal council for that reservation

Prior to receiving a loan, project owners must also first complete an interconnection feasibility study that indicates the project can be interconnected with system upgrades of less than 10% of the estimated project cost and must either obtain a power purchase agreement (PPA) with an electric utility or supply proof of serious consideration of such an agreement. Contact the Minnesota Energy Information Center for further information and application details.