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42 U.S. Code § 16372. Determination of eligibility and project selection
(a) Establishment of programThe Secretary shall establish and carry out a carbon dioxide transportation infrastructure finance and innovation program, under which the Secretary shall provide for eligible projects in accordance with this part—
(1)
a Federal credit instrument under section 16373 of this title;
(2)
a grant under section 16374 of this title; or
(3)
both a Federal credit instrument and a grant.
(b) Eligibility
(1) In generalA project shall be eligible to receive a Federal credit instrument or a grant under the CIFIA program if—
(A)
the entity proposing to carry out the project submits a letter of interest prior to submission of an application under paragraph (3) for the project; and
(B)
the project meets the criteria described in this subsection.
(2) Creditworthiness
(A) In general
Each project and obligor that receives a Federal credit instrument or a grant under the CIFIA program shall be creditworthy, such that there exists a reasonable prospect of repayment of the principal and interest on the Federal credit instrument, as determined by the Secretary under subparagraph (B).
(B) Reasonable prospect of repaymentThe Secretary shall base a determination of whether there is a reasonable prospect of repayment under subparagraph (A) on a comprehensive evaluation of whether the obligor has a reasonable prospect of repaying the Federal credit instrument for the eligible project, including evaluation of—
(i)
the strength of the contractual terms of an eligible project (if available for the applicable market segment);
(ii)
the forecast of noncontractual cash flows supported by market projections from reputable sources, as determined by the Secretary, and cash sweeps or other structural enhancements;
(iii) the projected financial strength of the obligor—
(I)
at the time of loan close; and
(II)
throughout the loan term, including after the project is completed;
(iv)
the financial strength of the investors and strategic partners of the obligor, if applicable; and
(v)
other financial metrics and analyses that are relied on by the private lending community and nationally recognized credit rating agencies, as determined appropriate by the Secretary.