Rural Energy Savings Program
Zero-interest USDA loans for eligible rural utilities and energy-service entities to finance energy upgrades for their consumers.
The Rural Energy Savings Program finances an intermediary, not the household or small business carrying out the work. You establish a programme that lends the USDA funds to qualified consumers for durable, cost-effective improvements at property you serve.
Eligible improvements include structural work and commercial technologies that increase energy efficiency. Cost-effective on-grid or off-grid renewable-energy and energy-storage systems can qualify when they meet that test.
Your USDA loan has 0% interest and can run for up to 20 years. You may charge consumers no more than 5% interest on loans of up to 10 years. Up to 4% of the USDA loan can cover the cost of starting the programme.
Eligibility
You must be one of the following:
- a public power district, public utility district, similar entity or qualifying electric cooperative that has repaid, prepaid or is repaying an electric loan from the Rural Utilities Service (RUS);
- an entity primarily owned or controlled by one or more such organizations; or
- another borrower eligible under the RUS rules that provides, or plans to provide, rural retail electricity, electricity supply to distribution utilities under arrangements acceptable to RUS, or RESP energy-efficiency, renewable-energy, storage or conservation measures and related services, investments, financing or onward lending.
Your programme must serve qualified consumers in eligible rural areas. For RESP, a rural area generally has no more than 50,000 inhabitants unless another statute designates it eligible. The measures must be at or for property served by your organization.
How to apply
- Status
- Open continuously
- Round restrictions
- Applications are processed on a first-come, first-served basis until available funding is depleted.
- USDA describes an ongoing October 1 to September 30 application cycle.
Start with the letter of intent available under To Apply on the programme page. RUS queues letters in the order received and may then invite you to submit a full loan application. An invitation is not a financing offer, and you normally have 90 days after receiving it to complete the application. The invitation contains submission instructions; programme questions can be sent to RESP@usda.gov.