Effective January 1, 2021, per the updated statute, applicants who reach financial close of a Title 17 loan guarantee will be charged an origination fee. Previously, all applicants were required to submit nonrefundable fees upon submission of Part I and Part II applications, as well as pay costs at different phases of the due diligence process. Now, applicants who reach financial close will pay an origination fee that is sufficient to cover applicable administrative expenses associated with the review and due diligence of their loan guarantee application. Specifically, the origination fee charged to the applicant upon financial close will cover the following costs:

• Application Fee – This fee will cover costs associated with LPO’s financial and technical review of the Part I and II applications. The fee is $150,000 for projects that request a loan amount that does not exceed $150 million and $400,000 for projects that exceed $150 million.
• Facility Fee – This fee covers the underwriting process following the Part I and Part II application and is calculated as a percentage of the requested loan amount; and
• Third Party Consultants Fee – This reimburses LPO for the out-of-pocket costs of third-party consultants engaged by DOE during the due diligence phase, including outside legal consultants, independent engineers, market analysts and financial analysts.

LPO has streamlined the application process for the Renewable Energy and Efficient Energy, Advanced Fossil, and Advanced Nuclear Title 17 Solicitations (the “Solicitations”). For Part I applications, LPO’s review will focus on evaluating if the Project (1) qualifies as an eligible technology under the Solicitation, (2) avoids, reduces, or sequesters anthropogenic emissions of greenhouse gases or air pollutants, (3) employs New or Significantly Improved Technology as compared to Commercial Technology in service in the United States (Innovative Technology), and (4) is located in the United States.

An essential input into the Part I review is “Attachment C -- Summary Lifecycle GHG Emissions Data Worksheet” of the Solicitations. This worksheet is required for Part I applications and Applicants should ensure it is filled out accurately and completely with all carbon inputs and outputs.

As part of this effort to streamline the process and accelerate reviews, Applicants are strongly encouraged to consider the following:

1. Request and participate in a Pre-Application Consultation with LPO prior to submitting a Part I Application,  
2. Clearly and succinctly identify the merits of the proposed project as they pertain to the basic eligibility requirements as defined in the Solicitation and underlying statute.
3. Ensure the completeness of the submitted application.

For the Part I application, potential barriers to submitting an application have been reduced by making optional two items that are listed in “Attachment A – Part I Submission” of the Solicitations: (1) Section G regarding Business and Financial Plans and (2) the Application Validation Statement concerning reasonable prospect of repayment in Section H. These two items will not be reviewed during the Part I review.

For the Part II application, a complete and up-to-date Section G and the Section H certification are required to be submitted per Sections B and I, respectively, under “Attachment A – Part II Submission” of the Solicitations. During the Part II stage of the application process, when a Project is at more advanced stage of development, LPO reviews the submitted Part II applications for (1) whether the Project provides a reasonable prospect of repayment of the principal and interest on the Guaranteed Obligation and other Project debt, and (2) whether the Guaranteed Obligation, when combined with amounts available from other sources, will be sufficient to carry out the Project and (3) is not benefitting from such federal assistance as in described in II.A.

LPO continues to strongly encourage prospective applicants to engage in no-cost pre-application consultations with LPO staff to facilitate a more efficient application review process and a shorter timeline between application submission and financial close. Email LPO@hq.doe.gov to request a pre-application consultation.