The solicitation seeks applications for projects that manufacture commercial renewable energy components and systems, including wind turbines, blades and energy storage systems.
The program’s $750 million funding was authorized by the American Recovery & Reinvestment Act, signed into law in February 2009.
It is the fourth solicitation for loan guarantee bids issued by the DOE using Recovery Act authorisation. In all, the Recovery Act authorised $6 billion in loan guarantees.
Other solicitations have sought bids for the parts of the loan guarantee covering transmission projects and commercial renewable power projects.
In June, the American Wind Energy Association and union United Steelworkers complained that the manufacturing guarantee had still not been enacted.
Recovery Act funds were, however, used in 2009 to supply manufacturer Nordic Windpower with a $16million loan guarantee to support assembly plant expansion.
The DOE says the manufacturing solicitation makes application requirements, evaluation processes, schedules and fees more clear than in previous solicitations.
Applicants can now apply through an online portal at www.DOEloan.com.
For the new solicitation, the Part I rolling deadline runs between August 31 and November 30. The Part II rolling deadline runs between October 31 and January 31.
Project construction must begin by September 30, 2011, and the DOE urges interested companies to submit their applications early.
The DOE also recently extended the deadline for its loan guarantee program for commercial renewable project development.
