USDA Rural Development’s Rural Utilities Service is accepting Letters of Interest for the Powering Affordable Reliable Technology (PART) Energy Program, Funding Opportunity Number RUS-PART-2026. Letters of Interest must be submitted no later than 11:59 a.m. Eastern Time on October 9, 2026. USDA states that approximately $410 million is available through September 30, 2031.
Rural healthcare and community resilience relevance
PART finances eligible renewable electric generation, energy storage, and the infrastructure needed to deliver that power. Rural hospitals, clinics, EMS systems, schools, and other community anchors can benefit indirectly when an eligible operating electric utility develops qualifying generation, storage, microgrid, transformer, transmission, or distribution infrastructure that improves service reliability. Those institutions are not direct applicants merely because they are project beneficiaries or off-takers. The controlling notice requires an eligible applicant to be an operating electric utility.
Funding structure
The current program provides approximately $410 million in funding authority. Individual PART awards have a $1 million minimum and a $100 million maximum, inclusive of any forgivable portion. A portion of an eligible loan may qualify for loan forgiveness under the program’s terms.
Project Loans may finance up to 75 percent of capitalized project cost. The applicant must provide at least 25 percent cash or equity, not debt, unless USDA determines that the project qualifies for special treatment such as financing of up to 100 percent in a Substantially Underserved Trust Area. System Loans are available only to currently operating electric utilities and may finance up to 100 percent of project cost when USDA determines the financing is feasible and required security conditions are met.
Eligibility and rural service-area requirement
USDA lists eligible operating utilities that are organized as certified electric utilities, distribution or generation and transmission electric cooperatives, federally recognized Tribes or qualifying Tribal instrumentalities, Alaska Native Corporations, for-profit organizations, nonprofit organizations, and state or local governments. Entity type alone is not sufficient. The applicant must satisfy the operating-utility requirements in the current notice.
At least 50 percent of the project service area generally must be rural, measured using rural population or rural electric meters. USDA may consider specified exceptions for high energy burden, serious economic need, or major added benefits for rural customers.
Eligible projects and restrictions
For this funding round, eligible generation includes new hydropower, geothermal, or biomass generation. Eligible energy storage systems may be charged by hydropower, geothermal, biomass, wind, or solar power. Financing may also support required linear facilities, power lines, distribution and transmission facilities, microgrids, transformers, interconnection costs, and other infrastructure needed to export, transmit, or deliver power from the eligible generation or storage facility to the off-taker.
The current notice excludes merchant and behind-the-meter consumer generation projects, purchase of existing renewable generation or storage assets, and the same project if it already received approval under PACE or New ERA. Construction for the proposed PART project must begin after publication of the controlling notice, and proposed technologies must be commercially available.
Letter of Interest and application controls
Letters of Interest are accepted from September 8, 2026 at 11:59 a.m. Eastern Time through October 9, 2026 at 11:59 a.m. Eastern Time. USDA processes LOIs in the order received. A submitter that receives an Invitation to Proceed generally has 60 days, or another period agreed to by the agency, to submit the full application.
The current LOI requirements include the applicant’s legal name and status, address, taxpayer identification number, active Unique Entity Identifier associated with SAM.gov, legal structure, responsible official and point of contact, a digital shapefile identifying the project or service area, net assets, bankruptcy or receivership disclosures, SUTA status if claimed, required historical financial statements, supporting financial information for entities providing equity or security, and a technical description limited to the controlling notice’s requirements. The technical submission addresses the requested loan type, project scope, commercially available technology, expected construction and commercial-operation dates, estimated costs, requested federal financing, proposed financial structure, power purchase or power-sales arrangements where applicable, permits and environmental status, and expected benefits to ratepayers. Applicants invited to proceed must then provide the full application materials required by the PART notice and applicable RUS regulations.
Atlas assessment
Atlas Opportunity Score: 66/100. PART is a substantial rural energy-resilience opportunity with potential indirect benefit to healthcare, EMS, schools, and other critical community facilities through eligible utility infrastructure. It is not a direct healthcare or school grant.
N9+ Fit Score: 0/100. The verified federal scope finances utility-scale renewable generation, storage, and associated delivery infrastructure rather than clinical devices or telehealth equipment.
Dr. Miltie direct applicant or vendor fit: 0/100 under the published federal structure. The controlling notice requires an eligible operating electric utility. No basis has been verified to classify Dr. Miltie as such an applicant. Eligible organization-specific development should be evaluated directly against the federal PART requirements, including operating-utility status, rural service-area criteria, project eligibility, financing structure, and submission requirements. Any Project Loan path also requires verified cash or equity contribution unless a controlling exception applies.
Official sources: USDA Rural Development PART Energy Program and Grants.gov opportunity RUS-PART-2026.