{"data":{"id":"us/7-cfr-4280.140","jurisdiction":"us","citation":"7 CFR 4280.140","heading":"Application processing.","body":"The following information describes the way the Agency will process applications. Applications will be evaluated for completeness, eligibility, risk, and merit.\n(a) Completeness evaluation. The Agency will review all submitted applications for completeness. Applications must include all information needed to assess eligibility, risk, and merit, including all of the requirements identified in § 4280.131, in order to be further processed for eligibility, risk, and merit evaluations. The Agency will notify Applicants who submitted incomplete applications in accordance with § 4280.152.\n(b) Eligibility evaluation. The Agency will review all complete applications to determine if they are eligible for assistance based on the requirements in this subpart and other applicable laws and regulations. As part of this process, the Agency will check the OMB-designated repository of government information, and Applicants that are excluded from Federal funding will be determined ineligible (see 2 CFR 200.206 for more information). Applications that do not meet one or more eligibility requirements will not be further processed for risk and merit evaluations. The Agency will notify Applicants who submitted ineligible applications in accordance with § 4280.152.\n(c) Risk evaluation. The Agency will review all eligible applications for risk based on the financial and performance factors described in § 4280.140(c)(1) and (2). Principals for the Applicant and Project will be evaluated for risk based on paragraph (c)(3) of this section.\n(1) Financial risk evaluation. The Agency will review the Applicant's most recent independent audit (if available) and financial statements. The Applicant's financial solvency, internal controls, and any audit findings will be assessed. Applicants whose ratio of current assets to current liabilities is not at least 1:1 will be considered to be too high of a risk to fund and will be notified that their application cannot be funded and the Agency will issue a written notification in accordance with § 4280.152. Other types of deficiencies or risks will be assessed on a case-by-case basis. The Agency will consider reasonable options to mitigate identified risks. However, for deficiencies and risks that are significant or cannot be reasonably mitigated, the Agency will determine that the application cannot be funded and will issue a written notification in accordance with § 4280.152.\n(2) Performance risk evaluation. The Agency will review any Federal Awards the Applicant, its affiliates, or its individual owners received during the five years prior to the application deadline through SAM (or its successor system), the Do Not Pay system (or its successor system), other Federal or Departmental level award or performance systems adopted by the Agency, and the Agency's internal financial record-keeping systems and files. The Applicant's ability to submit required reports and documents, complete approved tasks on time, meet approved budget requirements, and use Project funds properly will be evaluated. Applicants, their affiliates, and their individual owners with more than a total of two Federal Awards with performance deficiencies will be considered too high of a risk to be funded and will be notified in accordance with § 4280.152. Other types of deficiencies or risks will be assessed on a case-by-case basis. The Agency may consider reasonable options to mitigate identified risks. However, for deficiencies and risks that are significant or cannot be reasonably mitigated, the Agency will determine that the application cannot be funded and will issue a written notification in accordance with § 4280.152.\n(3) Principals. The Agency will review any available records in SAM, DNP, other Federal or Departmental systems, and the Agency's systems for financial risks and performance deficiencies on Federal Awards. If the Agency determines that a Principal is an excluded party or poses a significant risk to the performance under the proposed Project, it will determine that the application cannot be funded and will issue a written notification in accordance with § 4280.152.\n(d) Merit evaluation. The Agency will conduct a merit evaluation for those applications that are determined eligible for the program, unless a risk evaluation determines that the application cannot be funded (see § 4280.140(c)). The merit evaluation will be conducted by USDA employees, who will score the application based on the criteria below. The total points available are 90. An additional 10 points are possible through the priority points described in paragraph (e) of this section. Note that in cases where points and percentages must be rounded, the standard rounding process will be applied.\n(1) Impact (0-10 points). The Agency will award points as described in paragraphs (d)(1)(i) and (ii) of this section.\n(i) Number of employees (0 or 5 points). The Agency will award 5 points for Applicants that employ at least three employees, other than the individuals who own the Applicant entity. The Agency will award zero points for Applicants that employ less than three people.\n(ii) Critical community impact (0 or 5 points). The Agency will award 5 points for Applicants that are businesses that provide critical community services, such as grocery stores, laundry facilities, veterinary clinics, and medical offices. The Agency will award zero points for Applicants that do not fit into this category.\n(2) Quantity of energy to be saved or produced per award dollar requested (0-25 points). The Agency will award points as described in paragraphs (d)(2)(i) and (ii) of this section:\n(i) EEI. The Agency will award points based on annual energy saved per award dollar requested. The quantity of energy saved per award dollar requested will be determined by dividing the total annual energy saved (as converted to BTUs) by the award dollars requested. Points will be awarded based on the annual amount of energy saved based on the calculation in this paragraph (d)(2)(i). The points will be rounded to the nearest hundredth and are capped at 25.\nEquation 1 to Paragraph (d)(2)(i)\nBTUs of energy saved per award dollar requested ÷ 100 = points\n(ii) RES. The Agency will award points based on annual energy produced by the RES Project per award dollar requested. The quantity of energy produced per award dollar requested will be determined by dividing the total annual energy generated (as converted to BTUs) by the award dollars requested. Points will be awarded based on the annual amount of energy produced based on the calculation in this paragraph (d)(2)(ii). The points will be rounded to the nearest hundredth and are capped at 25.\nEquation 2 to Paragraph (d)(2)(ii)\nBTUs of energy generated per award dollar requested ÷ 100 = points\n(3) Percentage of energy saved or replaced (0-20 points)—(i) EEI. The Agency will award points based on the amount of energy saved by the Project compared to the amount of energy consumed by the Applicant at the Project location over a 12-month period. The calculation will be based on the Applicant's consumption of energy for the 12 months prior to making the improvements and compared to the 12 months after making the improvements.\nTable 1 to Paragraph (d)(3)(i)\nPercent of energy saved Points awarded\n9.4% or less 0\n9.5%-19.4% 5\n19.5%-34.4% 10\n34.5%-49.4% 15\n49.5% and above 20\n(ii) RES. The Agency will award points based on the amount of energy replaced by the Project compared to the amount of energy consumed by the Applicant at the Project location over a 12-month period. The calculation will be based on the Applicant's consumption of energy for the 12 months prior to installing or Retrofitting the RES and compared to the 12 months after installing or Retrofitting the system.\nTable 2 to Paragraph (d)(3)(ii)\nPercent of energy replaced Points awarded\n9.4% or less 0\n9.5%-24.4% 5\n24.5%-49.4% 10\n49.5%-74.4% 15\n74.5%-109.4% 20\n109.5% and above 0\n(4) Environmental benefits (0-5 points). The Agency will award points based on the environmental benefits directly attributable to the proposed Project as assessed at the Project level based on the description in this paragraph (d)(4).\n(i) EEI. The Agency will award points to EEI Projects as described in this paragraph (d)(4)(i).\n(A) Greenhouse gases (0 or 3 points). Projects that do not produce greenhouse gases receive 3 points. All other Projects receive 0 points.\n(B) Forest conservation (0 or 1 point). Projects that take into consideration fire hazards on forest lands receive 1 point if the consideration is effectively discussed in the application. All other Projects receive 0 points.\n(C) Water conservation (0 or 1 point). Projects that use water as part of the EEI that demonstrate a reduced use of water receive 1 point. All other Projects receive 0 points. Examples of Projects that could receive points are converting gravity to subsurface drip irrigation, using less water than industry standard, cleaning up existing surface or ground water, and stewardship practices going above environmental regulation minimums.\n(ii) RES. The Agency will award points to RES Projects as described in this paragraph (d)(4)(ii):\n(A) Greenhouse gases (0 or 3 points). Projects that do not produce greenhouse gases receive 3 points. All other Projects receive 0 points.\n(B) Forest conservation (0 or 1 point). Projects that take into consideration fire hazards on forest lands receive 1 point if the consideration is effectively discussed in the application. All other Projects receive 0 points.\n(C) Renewable fuel standard (0 or 1 point). Projects that comply with EPA's renewable fuel standards receive 1 point. All other Projects receive 0 points.\n(5) Prior awards (0-15 points). The Agency will award points to both EEI and RES Projects based on whether the Applicant has been approved for a Federal Award under this subpart.\n(i) Prior award within two years (0 points). The Applicant has been approved for a Federal Award under this subpart within the two previous Federal Fiscal Years.\n(ii) No prior awards within two years (5 points). The Applicant has not been approved for a Federal Award under this subpart within the two previous Federal Fiscal Years.\n(iii) No prior awards (15 points). The Applicant has never been approved for a Federal Award under this subpart.\n(6) Simple payback (0-15 points). The Agency will award points as described in this paragraph (d)(6).\n(i) EEI. The Agency will award points based on the Simple Payback of the EEI.\nEquation 3 to Paragraph (d)(6)(i)\nSimple Payback = (Project Cost) ÷ (dollar value of energy saved).\nTable 3 to Paragraph (d)(6)(i)\nSimple payback Points awarded\nMore than 12 0\nAt least 8 and up to 12 5\nAt least 4 and up to 7 10\nLess than 4 15\n(ii) RES. The Agency will award points based on the Simple Payback of the RES as described in this paragraph (d)(6)(ii).\nEquation 4 to Paragraph (d)(6)(ii)\nSimple Payback = (Project Cost) ÷ (dollar value of energy units replaced, credited, sold, or used and fair market value of Byproducts as applicable in a typical year).\nTable 4 to Paragraph (d)(6)(ii)\nSimple payback Points awarded\nMore than 25 years 0\nAt least 15 and up to 25 5\nAt least 10 and up to 14 10\nLess than 10 15\n(e) Priority points (0-10 points). RBCS may select priorities that are applicable to the program. These priorities will be provided on the program website.","path":["Title 7—Agriculture","Subtitle B—Regulations of the Department of Agriculture","CHAPTER XLII—RURAL BUSINESS-COOPERATIVE SERVICE, DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE","PART 4280—LOANS AND GRANTS","Subpart B—Rural Energy for America Program—Grants for Renewable Energy Systems and Energy Efficiency Improvements"],"source_url":"https://www.ecfr.gov/api/versioner/v1/full/2026-10-28/title-7.xml","current_through":"2026-10-28","vintage":"","retrieved_at":"2026-10-30T05:51:41Z","sha256":"df9e46d17cfeb14f936e3e4846c14b8cef84ea6a0bc580d1a58021aca5b0ab3f","source_id":"us-cfr","stale":false,"prev":"us/7-cfr-4280.134-4280.139","next":"us/7-cfr-4280.141"},"notice":"GroundRules: Original legal text. Not legal advice."}