This request for information is intended to inform the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) on promising, innovative, and best practices for designing revolving loan funds (RLFs). DOE is seeking to create program guidance that will assist States, as well as potentially other entities, in designing, managing, and improving RLFs. The goal is to collect information that will ultimately support creation of RLFs that effectively serve a wide array of borrowers with beneficial energy efficiency products and services and enable private sector capital to scale access to energy efficiency financing.
On November 15, 2021, President Joseph R. Biden, Jr. signed the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA; Public Law 117-58), which appropriated $250 million to DOE to make funds available to States to implement energy efficiency revolving loan fund capitalization grant programs (Sec. 40502, or 42 U.S.C. 18792). These capitalization grants enable States to establish a RLF to provide loans and provide grants for commercial and residential energy audits, energy upgrades, and retrofits among other activities. Many States have experience running RLFs, such as through use of funds made available from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (Public Law No. 111-5). The IIJA offers a new opportunity to support establishment of new RLFs where they do not currently exist, or to augment and diversify offerings of existing RLFs. Section 40502 of the IIJA offers States flexibility in designing and implementing these RLFs, within limits set by the statute and the Secretary of Energy. More information about RLFs can be found here: https://www.energy.gov/eere/slsc/revolving-loan-funds
Please see the full text for the request for information (RFI) in the DOCUMENTS section below.
Responses to this RFI must be submitted electronically to EERevolvingLoanFund@ee.doe.gov no later than 11:59 pm (ET) on May 6, 2022.
This is a Request for Information (RFI) only. EERE will not pay for information provided under this RFI and no project will be supported as a result of this RFI. This RFI is not accepting applications for financial assistance or financial incentives. EERE may or may not issue a Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA) based on consideration of the input received from this RFI.