Electric cooperatives in 11 states have received approval from the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) to issue clean renewable energy bonds (CREBs) worth $143 million.
CREB awards to cooperatives ranged from $3 million to $30 million. Approved projects include 14 wind projects, five landfill gas projects, six hydroelectric projects, one solar project and one open-loop biomass project.
‘Most of the nation's renewable energy resources can be found in the service territory of cooperatives,’ says Glenn English, CEO of the National Rural Electric Cooperative Association. ‘[CREBs] are the financial instrument that allows cooperatives to unleash that power.’
Congress approved approximately $477 million for fiscal year 2007. In addition to awards made to cooperatives, the IRS awarded $263 million to governmental borrowers. Awardees may now apply to the National Rural Cooperative Finance Corp. or other qualified lenders to issue bonds on their behalf.
