Effective 28 Aug 2018

640.653. Application and technical assistance report, content and form — loans, how granted — review and summary by agencies. — 1. An application for loan funds or other financial assistance may be submitted to the department for the purpose of financing all or a portion of the costs incurred in implementing an energy conservation project. The application shall be accompanied by a technical assistance report. The application and the technical assistance report shall be in such form and contain such information, financial or otherwise, as prescribed by the department. This section shall not preclude any applicant or borrower from joining in a cooperative project with any other local government or with any state or federal agency or entity in an energy conservation project; provided that, all other requirements of sections 640.651 to 640.686 are met.

2. Eligible applications shall be assigned a payback score derived from the application review performed by the department. Applications shall be selected for loans and financial assistance beginning with the lowest payback score and continuing in ascending order to the highest payback score until all available program funds have been obligated within any given application cycle. The selection criteria may be applied per sector or entity to assure equity pursuant to section 640.674. In no case shall a loan or financial assistance be made to finance an energy project with a payback score of less than six months or more than ten years or eighty percent of the expected useful life of the energy conservation measures when the expected useful life exceeds ten years. Repayment periods are to be determined by the department. Applications may be approved for loans or financial assistance only in those instances where the applicant has furnished the department information satisfactory to assure that the project cost will be recovered through energy cost savings during the repayment period of the loan or financial assistance. In no case shall a loan or financial assistance be made to an applicant unless the approval of the governing board or body of the applicant to the loan agreement is obtained and a written certification of such approval is provided, where applicable.

3. The department shall approve or disapprove all applications for loans or financial assistance which are sent by certified or registered mail or hand delivered and received by the department's division of energy on, or prior to, the ninetieth day following the date of application cycle closing. Any applications which are not acted upon by the department by such date shall be deemed to be approved as submitted.

4. The department of elementary and secondary education shall be provided a summary of all proposed public elementary and secondary school projects for review within fifteen days from the application deadline. Once projects have been reviewed and selected for loans or financial assistance by the department, the department of elementary and secondary education shall have thirty days to certify that those projects selected for loans or financial assistance are consistent with related state programs for public education facilities.

5. The department of health and senior services shall be provided a summary of all proposed hospital projects for review within fifteen days from the application deadline. Once projects have been reviewed and selected for loans or financial assistance by the department of economic development, the department of health and senior services shall have thirty days to certify that those projects selected for loans or financial assistance are consistent with related health requirements for hospital facilities.

6. The coordinating board for higher education shall be provided a summary of all proposed public higher education facility projects for review within fifteen days from the application deadline. Once projects have been reviewed and selected for loans and financial assistance by the department, the coordinating board for higher education shall have thirty days to certify that those projects selected for loans or financial assistance are consistent with related state programs for education facilities.

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(L. 1995 H.B. 414, A.L. 2002 S.B. 810, A.L. 2018 S.B. 975 & 1024 Revision)