The Treasury Department has announced $1 billion in stimulus bond authority under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) for 76 tribes across the country. Tribal Economic Development Bonds will help create jobs and complete projects.
The bonds will be used to invest in renewable energy manufacturing and other projects, build healthcare facilities and shore up water infrastructure. The Pueblo of Acoma in New Mexico will use nearly $7 million in Tribal Economic Development Bonds to develop and construct a wind farm that includes an electrical collector system and tie-ins with existing utility systems.
The project, Wind=Nature's Dividend (WiND) will have a gross design capacity of 15 MW produced from approximately 10 1.5 MW utility-scale wind turbines.
These bonds may be issued by tribes, either as traditional tax-exempt bonds or as Build America Bonds if they meet the additional program eligibility rules for Build America Bonds, in each case realizing lower borrowing costs for tribal communities.
For tribes that choose to use this bond authority under the Build America Bonds program, the Treasury will make a direct payment to the issuer in an amount equal to 35% of the interest payment on the bond.
SOURCE: U.S. Treasury Department
