The term “biobased product manufacturing” means development, construction, and retrofitting of technologically new commercial-scale processing and manufacturing equipment and required facilities that will be used to convert renewable chemicals and other biobased outputs of biorefineries into end-user products on a commercial scale.
The term “eligible entity” means an individual, entity, Indian tribe, or unit of State or local government, including a corporation, farm cooperative, farmer cooperative organization, association of agricultural producers, National Laboratory, institution of higher education, rural electric cooperative, public power entity, or consortium of any of those entities.
The Secretary shall make available to eligible entities guarantees for loans made to fund the development, construction, and retrofitting of commercial-scale biorefineries using eligible technology.
In approving a loan guarantee application, the Secretary shall determine the technical and economic feasibility of the project based on a feasibility study of the project described in the application conducted by an independent third party.
In approving loan guarantee applications, the Secretary shall ensure that, to the extent practicable, there is diversity in the types of projects approved for loan guarantees to ensure that as wide a range as possible of technologies, products, and approaches are assisted.
The principal amount of a loan guaranteed under subsection (c) may not exceed $250,000,000.
Except as otherwise provided in this subparagraph, a loan guaranteed under subsection (c) shall be in an amount not to exceed 80 percent of the project costs, as determined by the Secretary.
The amount of a loan guaranteed for a project under subsection (c) shall be reduced by the amount of other direct Federal funding that the eligible entity receives for the same project.
The Secretary may guarantee up to 90 percent of the principal and interest due on a loan guaranteed under subsection (c).
As a condition of receiving a grant or loan guarantee under this section, an eligible entity shall ensure that all laborers and mechanics employed by contractors or subcontractors in the performance of construction work financed, in whole or in part, with the grant or loan guarantee, as the case may be, shall be paid wages at rates not less than those prevailing on similar construction in the locality, as determined by the Secretary of Labor in accordance with sections 3141 through 3144, 3146, and 3147 of title 40.
The Secretary of Labor shall have, with respect to the labor standards described in paragraph (1), the authority and functions set forth in Reorganization Plan Numbered 14 of 1950 (5 U.S.C. App) and section 3145 of title 40.
Of the total amount of funds made available for fiscal years 2014 and 2015 under subparagraph (A), the Secretary may use for the cost of loan guarantees under this section not more than 15 percent of such funds to promote biobased product manufacturing.