The Rural Utilities Service (RUS or the Agency), a Rural Development (RD) agency of the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), is soliciting Letters of Interest (LOI) for applications under the Affordable Rural Cooperative (ARC) Program. In addition, the Agency is announcing the eligibility requirements, application process and deadlines, and the criteria that will be used by RUS to assess ARC Applications. The ARC Program is making approximately $175 million in appropriated budget authority for the cost of loan and grant funds available under the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) of 2022. In keeping with the statutory authority for the program, RUS will utilize the ARC funds to assist Eligible Entities to achieve future net reductions consistent with Section 22004 of the IRA through the deployment of advanced, efficient transmission infrastructure and nuclear power supply. Available funds will be allocated for each purpose while advancing the long-term resiliency, reliability, and affordability of rural electric systems. All Eligible Entities are responsible for any expenses incurred in developing their LOIs and ARC Applications.
This funding notice advances the statutory purpose of achieving the greatest reductions as provided in Section 22004 of the IRA associated with rural electric systems by increasing the amount of emission-free nuclear power and increasing the efficiency of the transmission grid within such systems. These new sources of cooperative power supply and enhanced transmission efficiency will result in reduced future demand for other sources of power.
Cost Sharing or Matching:
For Project and System loans, RUS will finance up to 75 percent of the total capitalized cost of the Project in the loan component of a Project and/or System Award. The Awardee will be required to initially provide and maintain for the term of the Project and/or System Award at least 25 percent of the Project’s total capitalized cost in the form of cash or an equity investment.
As noted in Section 2.0 of the NOFO, the Agency may where Financially Feasible allow an Awardee to utilize the grant component of the Award and/or any applicable tax credit that it expects to receive (including credit amounts expected to be received through Elective Pay elections under section 6417 of the Internal Revenue Code) toward the 25 percent equity requirement for a Project Award. Such financial equity may not come from the proceeds of any loan from any creditor, including insiders of the Awardee.
Award amount
Up to $20,000,000
Total program funding: $175,000,000
Eligibility
(1) Operating Electric cooperatives described in section 501(c)(12) or 1381(a)(2) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 who are currently or have been in the past a RUS electric loan borrower pursuant to the RE Act;(2) Electric cooperatives serving predominantly Rural Areas; or(3) Wholly or jointly owned subsidiaries of such electric cooperatives listed in (1) and (2).For the purposes of this program, the term “predominantly rural” as used in (2) in this paragraph shall mean a service territory that must include at least 50 percent Rural Areas
This is a forecasted opportunity. Watch Grants.gov for the official notice; applications open once it is posted. You'll need SAM.gov (UEI) and Grants.gov registrations.
The Pollution Control Tax-Exempt Bond Financing Program facilitates low cost capital through private activity, tax-exempt bonds. The securities pay for acquisition, construction or installation of qualified pollution control, water furnishing, waste disposal, waste recovery facilities and equipment. Tax-exempt bond financing assists qualified borrowers to obtain lower interest rates than are available through conventional loans.
CPCFA acts as a conduit issuer in the transaction. The bonds are issued to raise capital for revenue-generating projects where the funds are used by the borrower to make payments to investors. The conduit financing is typically backed by either the borrower's credit or monies pledged to the project by outside investors. If the project fails and goes into default, it is solely the borrower's responsibility to repay the bondholders. Eligible Facilities The following types of projects are eligible for financing: Provides financing to California business, irrespective of company size, for the acquisition, construction or installation or qualified pollution control, waste disposal, and resource recovery facilities Provides financing to California businesses that meet the size standards set forth in Title 13 of the Code of Federal Regulations or are an eligible small business, which is defined as 500 employees or less, including affiliates, for the acquisition, construction or installation of qualified pollution control, waste disposal, and resource recovery facilities. Final determination of eligibility is based upon opinion of Bond Counsel and Tax Counsel pursuant to Federal Tax Laws. Types of projects, which may qualify for tax-exempt bond financing, include: Curbside collection facilities, Recycling facilities, Composting facilities, Materials recovery facilities, Transfer station Landfills, Waste-to-energy facilities, Qualified solid waste or hazardous waste disposal projects Waste recovery facilities, Water Furnishing Facilities, Wastewater Treatment Facilities. Potential Uses of Bond Proceeds: Buildings and equipment Machinery and furnishings Land Costs of architects, engineers, attorneys and permits Costs of bond issuance Federal Eligibility Requirements Restrictions on use of proceeds: 95% of proceeds must be used for the defined project 2% of bond proceeds can be used for costs of issuance 25% of bond proceeds can be used for land costs in certain cases A public Tax Equity and Fiscal Responsibility Act (TEFRA) hearing must be held before the bonds are issued To acquire an existing building, a minimum of 15% of the bond proceeds must be used to renovate the building The average life of the bond issue cannot exceed 120% of the weighted average of the estimated useful life of the assets being financed. Prospective borrowers should contact bond counsel to help determine if a proposed project qualifies under federal law. Financing is performed in conjunction with allocation from the California Debt Limit Allocation Committee (CDLAC). The allocation is required by federal tax law for private activity tax-exempt bonds to be issued. CPCFA Fees: Application Fee: .0005 (1/20 of 1%) of total application amount, not to exceed $5,000. Payable with initial application. Administrative Fees: .002 (2/10 of 1%) of total amount of bonds issued utilizing volume cap allocation, minus the application fee. Please see the CPCFA Bond Program website for additional fees which may apply to the financing.
The purpose of this solicitation is to provide cost share funding for eligible projects (see Section II.C. of GFO-22-903) to applicants that apply for and receive an award under an eligible federal Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA).
Before applying, applicants are encouraged to check Eligibility Requirements in Section II. of this solicitation. As new eligible cost share opportunities are released, the CEC will revise this document with corresponding information on how to apply for cost share for that funding opportunity. Information on currently eligible funding opportunities can be found in the Eligible Federal Funding Opportunities section of the Eligibility Requirements (Section II.A.). The CEC will provide cost share only to applicants that are applying for a FOA or follow-on funding from DOE as described above. If the applicant has already received a federal award or follow-on funding and is seeking retroactive cost share, that application will not be eligible under this solicitation.
Modification 000002:
Updated Appendix A and the definition of “Construction and demolition waste”, also denoted as “C&D Waste”, to align with the programmatic authorizing statute for the Alternative Fuels and Feedstocks Office listed in NOFO Part 1, Section III.G. Statutory Authority.
• “Construction and demolition waste,” for the purposes of this NOFO and consistent with the statutory authorities1, refers to waste organic materials from buildings, roads and bridges, and other sectors, but not included in municipal solid waste. It includes wood waste materials, including waste pallets, crates, dunnage, manufacturing and construction wood wastes (other than pressure-treated, chemically-treated, or painted wood wastes), and landscape or right-of-way tree trimmings.
Updated Section III.D. Key Requirements and Section III.F. Applications Specifically Not of Interest to specify that target chemicals should have global annual markets or potential markets of at least 1 million metric tons.
• Previously this metric was given as U.S. production of at least 1 million metric tons.
Modification 000001:
Moved the application content requirement for Letter(s) of Commitment (LOCs) from Stage 2 to Stage 1.
• Added a clause in Section III.D indicating that LOCs are to be submitted with Stage 1 applications.
• Updated the summary table in Section IV.D.2 to reflect the above (added Stage 1 LOC requirement)
• Updated the summary table in Section IV.E.1 to reflect the above (added “(as needed, in addition to Stage 1 submittals)”).
DOE CMEI is dedicated to securing America’s energy future by reinforcing domestic critical mineral supply chains, driving next-generation energy technology and manufacturing research, and promoting affordable, consumer-friendly solutions. CMEI’s AFFO is issuing this ASPECT NOFO, DE-FOA-0003647, to support research, development, and pre-pilot testing of innovative technologies that produce chemicals from alternative and waste feedstocks, mobilizing America’s abundant alternative feedstocks resources.
The goal of this Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO) is to advance promising chemical technologies that utilize alternative feedstocks through multiple levels of maturity and, in some cases, to pre-pilot scale. To accomplish this, the NOFO is divided into two topic areas, each divided into two subtopic areas designed to provide different on-ramps for technologies at different stages of development.
Topic Area 1 supports the progression of technologies in the R&D phase. Subtopic Area 1a supports advancing early-stage research to bench scale. Subtopic Area 1b is intended to move projects closer to pre-pilot scale, to a point where critical unit operations must be further developed and demonstrated.
Topic Area 2 provides an on-ramp for technologies ready to move from R&D to full pre-pilot scale and operations. Projects applying to Topic Area 2 should aim to advance their technology to design, construct, and operate pre-pilot scale facilities. Both subtopic areas have the same goal - to move technologies into integrated pre-pilot systems and operate them - but allow for two different points of entry. Subtopic Area 2a targets preliminary pre-pilot scale testing of critical unit operations before engineering and design can commence for the entire system while Subtopic Area 2b projects will involve technologies that are ready for design and construction of an integrated pre-pilot facility.
Please see the full NOFO document at eere-exchange.energy.gov.
Questions regarding the NOFO must be submitted to ASPECT@doe.gov.
The required Concept Paper due date for this NOFO is 10/09/2026 at 5PM ET. The Full Application due date for this NOFO is 12/01/2026 at 5PM ET.
As stated in the Notice of Intent (search DE-FOA-0003646 in eXCHANGE), a Teaming Partner List has been compiled to encourage collaboration and facilitate the formation of new project teams. Visit: TPL-0000073 Teaming Partner List for DE-FOA-0003646 NOI to Publish DE-FOA-0003647
The eXCHANGE system is currently designed to enforce hard deadlines for Concept Paper and Full Application submissions. The APPLY and SUBMIT buttons automatically disable at the defined submission deadlines. The intention of this design is to consistently enforce a standard deadline for all applicants.
Applicants that experience issues with submissions PRIOR to the NOFO Deadline: In the event that an Applicant experiences technical difficulties with a submission, the Applicant should contact the eXCHANGE helpdesk for assistance (exchangehelp@hq.doe.gov). The eXCHANGE helpdesk and/or the EERE eXCHANGE System Administrators (eXCHANGE@ee.doe.gov) will assist the Applicant in resolving all issues.
Applicants that experience issues with submissions that result in a late submission: In the event that an Applicant experiences technical difficulties with a submission that results in a late submission, the Applicant should contact the eXCHANGE helpdesk for assistance (exchangehelp@hq.doe.gov). The eXCHANGE helpdesk and/or the EERE eXCHANGE System Administrators (eXCHANGE@ee.doe.gov) will assist the Applicant in resolving all issues (including finalizing the submission on behalf of, and with the Applicant's concurrence). DOE will only accept late applications when the Applicant has a) encountered technical difficulties beyond their control; b) has contacted the eXCHANGE helpdesk for assistance; and c) has submitted the application through eXCHANGE within 24 hours of the NOFO's posted deadline.
REAP Renewable Energy Systems and Energy Efficiency Improvement Program.Refer to Application Package AND Application Instruction links to obtain all necessary forms for a complete application.Contact State Energy Coordinators with questions: http://www.rd.usda.gov/files/RBS_StateEnergyCoordinators.pdf