The USDA Rural Business-Cooperative Service is soliciting applications for the Biorefinery, Renewable Chemical, and Biobased Product Manufacturing Assistance Program.

The program provides loan guarantees to fund the development, construction and retrofitting of commercial-scale biorefineries that use eligible technology. It also provides loan guarantees for biobased product manufacturing facilities that use technologically new commercial-scale processing and manufacturing equipment to convert renewable chemicals and other biobased outputs of biorefineries into end-user products, on a commercial scale.  

Loan guarantees can be issued for up to 80 percent of total eligible product costs, up to $250 million. The total amount of federal participation, including loan guarantees and other federal funding, must not exceed 80 percent of the total eligible project costs.

There are two application cycles each fiscal year with deadlines of Oct. 1 and April 1, but applications may be submitted at any time. Applications filed under the current application cycle are due April 1, 2020. Applications filed after the closing date of each application period will be considered for the subsequent application cycle, provided that funding is available. According to the USDA, a required letter of intent must be filed no fewer than 30 days prior to an application deadline.

Additional information is available in a notice published in the Federal Register and on the USDA website.