Page:United States Statutes at Large Volume 122.djvu/1339

 12 2 STA T . 1 3 1 6PUBLIC LA W 11 0– 23 4—M A Y 22, 200 8‘ ‘ (B)theg e o g rap h ics cope o f the progra m propose dby the e l igible e n tity in relation to the identified need ‘‘( C )then u mber of agricultural producers and rural small businesses to be assisted by the program; ‘‘( D ) the potential of the proposed program to produce energy sa v ings and environmental benefits; ‘‘( E ) the plan of the eligible entity for performing out - reach and providing information and assistance to agricul- tural producers and rural small businesses on the benefits of energy efficiency and rene w able energy development; and ‘‘( F ) the ability of the eligible entity to leverage other sources of funding . ‘‘( 4 ) USEOFGRANT F U N D S. —A recipient of a grant under paragraph ( 1 ) shall use the grant funds to assist agricultural producers and rural small businesses by— ‘‘(A) conducting and promoting energy audits; and ‘‘(B) providing recommendations and information on how— ‘‘(i) to improve the energy efficiency of the oper- ations of the agricultural producers and rural small businesses; and ‘‘(ii) to use renewable energy technologies and resources in the operations. ‘‘( 5 ) LIM ITATION.— G rant recipients may not use more than 5 percent of a grant for administrative e x penses. ‘‘( 6 )COSTS H ARING.—A recipient of a grant under paragraph (1) that conducts an energy audit for an agricultural producer or rural small business under paragraph (4) shall re q uire that , as a condition of the energy audit, the agricultural producer or rural small business pay at least 2 5 percent of the cost of the energy audit, which shall be retained by the eligible entity for the cost of the energy audit. ‘‘(c) FINAN C IA L ASSISTANCE FOR ENERG Y EFFICIENCY I M P RO V E- MENTS AND R ENE W A B LE ENERGY S YSTEMS.— ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—In addition to any similar authority, the Secretary shall provide loan guarantees and grants to agri- cultural producers and rural small businesses— ‘‘(A) to purchase renewable energy systems, including systems that may be used to produce and sell electricity; and ‘‘(B) to ma k e energy efficiency improvements. ‘‘(2) AWARD CONSIDERATIONS.—In determining the amount of a loan guarantee or grant provided under this section, the Secretary shall take into consideration, as applicable— ‘‘(A) the type of renewable energy system to be pur- chased; ‘‘(B) the estimated quantity of energy to be generated by the renewable energy system; ‘‘(C) the expected environmental benefits of the renew- able energy system; ‘‘(D) the quantity of energy savings expected to be derived from the activity, as demonstrated by an energy audit; ‘‘(E) the estimated period of time for the energy savings generated by the activity to equal the cost of the activity;

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