MnCIFA Call for Financing Applications

Since MnCIFA was established in state law in 2023, the MnCIFA Board of Directors has approved $37 million across 14 loans to clean energy projects in Minnesota. MnCIFA’s current loan portfolio ranges from loans for $500,000 to $5 million, with an average loan size of $2.6 million. To date, the majority of projects with MnCIFA loans are located in the Twin Cities area, in part due to the concentration of Minnesota’s population in the metro area.

As required by MnCIFA’s statute, lending prioritizes Environmental Justice Communities. To date, about 90% of loans approved by MnCIFA’s Board serve Environmental Justice Communities. To expand geographic diversity to our lending portfolio, we are seeking loans to projects located in Tribal communities and in communities outside the Twin Cities metro area.  MPCA has a map of Minnesota's Environmental Justice communities here.

MnCIFA is prioritizing applicants that have not previously received MnCIFA financing and for projects that meet the Objectives listed below. Not all projects are ready for debt financing and MnCIFA may at times recommend that applicants seek grants or other state funding sources. Submission of a preliminary application initiates steps for qualifying for a loan. All MnCIFA loans are subject to underwriting by the MnCIFA Investment Team and final approval by MnCIFA’s Executive Team, MnCIFA Board of Directors’ Credit Committee, and the MnCIFA Board of Directors.

MnCIFA seeks applications for projects that will deploy commercially available clean energy technologies to save consumers, companies, nonprofits, or other entities money on their energy costs.  This includes, but is not limited to: solar, storage, geothermal, energy efficiency, wind, and other commercially available technologies.

Preferred Qualifications for Projects

• MnCIFA loan size between $250,000 and $2,000,000
• Financial and/or economic models that demonstrate cost savings to the end customer
• MnCIFA financing would be up to 30% of the full project capital stack
• Plan to access federal tax credits, where applicable

MnCIFA seeks projects that utilize innovative technologies and create quality jobs, such as bringing new companies and cutting-edge clean energy products to Minnesota.  MnCIFA’s participation in the project capital stack may be greater for these projects relative to the other objectives in this Call for Applications, given MnCIFA’s statutory goals to replace existing fossil-fuel-based technology with innovations which reduce carbon emissions. Emerging technologies can be more capital intensive and require patient capital that private financiers can be hesitant to provide. In this respect, MnCIFA seeks to be catalytic to other private financiers participating in the project.   

Preferred Qualifications for Projects

• MnCIFA loan size between $500,000 and $5,000,000
• MnCIFA financing would be up to 50% of the full project capital stack

MnCIFA seeks projects located outside of the Twin Cities metro area¹.  Per MnCIFA statute, MnCIFA must “finance projects in all regions of the state.” As noted on Project Eligibility [above], MnCIFA is required by statute “to ensure that no less than 40 percent of the direct benefits of authority activities flow to Environmental Justice Communities.” To ensure that Environmental Justice Communities benefit from MnCIFA’s support and MnCIFA complies with this portfolio concentration requirement, preference will be given to projects that benefit Environmental Justice Communities. One of the Environmental Justice Community definitions is “census tracts that are located within Indian Country, which is defined as federally recognized reservations and other Indigenous lands.” To date, the majority of MnCIFA’s financed projects have been in the Twin Cities metro area and no project has financed Tribal projects.

Preferred Qualifications for Projects

MnCIFA’s preferred project qualifications for this objective include those articulated under Objective 1 and Objective 2 above, in addition to being outside of the Twin Cities metro area.

¹For the purposes of these objectives: the counties defined in Minnesota Statute 473.121.

MnCIFA also seeks to mobilize private capital to accelerate the deployment of clean energy by partnering with financial institutions on projects that implement the technologies noted above.  Per MnCIFA statute, MnCIFA must “strategically prioritize the use of the authority's funds to leverage private investment in qualified projects, with the aim of achieving a high ratio of private to public money invested through funding mechanisms that support, enhance, and complement private lending and investment.”

Preferred Qualifications for Co-Financed Projects

MnCIFA’s preferred qualifications for co-financed projects include those noted above in the Preferred Qualification for Projects sections of each objective, with preference for financial institutions that could:

• Provide the majority of the debt financing in the project capital stack
• Be pari passu with MnCIFA

Below are questions from the public that MnCIFA has received regarding the Call for Applications with our responses. The webinar slide deck from the information session is available here.

This page will be updated frequently as our 2026 Call for Applications remains open and we receive questions. 

Most recent update: March 9, 2026. 

Timeline and Application

If a project submitted in the first round isn't accepted to move forward, will feedback be provided to improve an application for future rounds?

For this Call for Applications, applicants can only submit one application per project concept. If the project is deemed ineligible due to MnCIFA’s qualified project requirements or not in-line with current Call for Applications preferred qualifications, the applicant cannot re-submit the same project concept to MnCIFA.  However, the same applicant may apply for multiple different project concepts.

What is the timeline to get a project funded, from proposal to closing?

The timeline for a project can vary. MnCIFA will work to align its loan closing timeline to the needs of each project. In general, the loan closing process can take between three to five months.

Is it best to apply for the preliminary application intake to have best conversations? I'm not sure if our project would work in this model. The initial application doesn't lock us in, correct?

Correct. The preliminary application creates no obligation. After an applicant submits a preliminary application, MnCIFA will invite the applicant to a brief review meeting. At this meeting, the MnCIFA Investment Team will ask the applicant clarifying questions about the applicant’s proposed project, and the applicant will also have the chance to ask questions about MnCIFA’s process.

I have a project that isn’t quite ready for this form of funding. What is the timeframe of this program? What is the long-term picture?

MnCIFA was created by statute and is a permanent financing authority for the State of Minnesota. MnCIFA originates new projects both on a rolling basis and through strategic allocation exercises, such as this Call for Applications. For this Call for Applications, MnCIFA is seeking to deploy up to $50 million. Once the Call for Applications is closed, MnCIFA will continue to accept applications on a rolling basis and pursue new projects depending on its capital availability.

Loan Terms

What are MnCIFA’s repayment intervals?

Loan repayment schedules are unique to each loan and project. In general, MnCIFA will seek to structure loans that align with project cash flows, including grace periods of accrued and capitalized interest followed by standard monthly loan installment payments.

What is required as security for projects to get funded as bridge financing?

Collateral is unique to each loan and project. In general, MnCIFA collateral includes tangible assets, including real estate, inventory, and/or equipment. In certain instances, MnCIFA may consider other types of collateral, including accounts receivable.  MnCIFA will work with each applicant to assess the most appropriate collateral options.

What are interest rates for MnCIFA projects? Can you provide more detail around the notching factors, their impact, and which way they would shift the rate?

The interest rate will be set based off the U.S. Treasury rate tied to term of the MnCIFA loan with an average of +/-100-300 basis points depending on the characteristics of the project, including the risk of the project and other notching factors associated with statutorily mandated preferences, including but not limited to:

• High-quality employment and apprenticeship opportunities for local workers
• Benefits to Environmental Justice Communities (you can use MPCA’s interactive map tool to look up if your project is in an Environmental Justice Community)
• Contractors/subcontractors right to organize/unionize is recognized
• Project labor agreement
• Energy technology produced domestically

How do revolving loans work? 

A revolving loan is a loan that MnCIFA lends to a borrower, the proceeds of which are lent to the borrower’s clients or projects often in significantly smaller amounts. During the term of the MnCIFA loan, the borrower may lend out and be repaid these funds multiple times while making payments on the MnCIFA loan.

Project Qualifications

In terms of projects being located in the State of Minnesota: would it be possible to do our product processing in Minnesota but sell/use the product in surrounding states?

For MnCIFA, the project being financed must be located in Minnesota. Customers or clients of the MnCIFA-financed project may be located in a non-Minnesota jurisdiction. An exception to this guidance, however, is power generation projects in which the majority of off-takers are not located in Minnesota.

Is the approach taken for innovative/new technologies the same as the approach for established technologies? Can there be a phased approach to an innovative technology?

For innovative technologies, MnCIFA prefers to finance technologies that have been commercially demonstrated. MnCIFA is willing to consider a loan with multiple tranches to accommodate technology deployment and scaling milestones.

How do organizations with loan needs of under $250k qualify for MnCIFA loans? How do portfolio loans work? 

MnCIFA is limited by statute to a minimum loan size of $250,000. However, MnCIFA may lend to a borrower that aggregates multiple projects with project costs below this threshold if the entire aggregation of projects requires more than or equal to $250,000.

Is it possible for the financing to fit on both sides of a capital stack for a project that is mixed use? For example, one use is affordable housing and the other is commercial. Would an applicant apply for both portions of the project?

MnCIFA can finance projects that are mixed-use and will evaluate the best fit for MnCIFA in the capital stack. For this example, the applicant would submit one application for both portions of the project. 

When considering financing affordable housing projects, MnCIFA will be closely considering the project in terms of our statutory requirements for funding Environmental Justice Communities. The MnCIFA statute explicitly states that: 

“(d) The authority's targets and strategies must be designed to ensure that no less than 40 percent of the direct benefits of authority activities flow to environmental justice communities as defined under subdivision 2, by the United States Department of Energy, or as modified by the department.”

For the purposes of this Call for Applications, applicants can consider this map to define Environmental Justice Communities. 

Underwriting

Is the 1:1 match for innovative technologies required to be cash-in-hand or can it be through in-kind or future funds raised? Does capital spent prior to closing on loan count as matching?

Cash in hand is not required to apply, but MnCIFA will want to understand each applicant’s fundraising plan and timeline. Certain project fundraising milestones and commitments may be required by MnCIFA prior to loan closing.

In terms of electric vehicles, for a transit agency or a municipality that already has existing procurement methods, how might the process be different for them?

MnCIFA can issue loans to public entities and municipalities that have the authority to borrow and repay funds. Loans to these public entities would be subject to the same MnCIFA diligence, assessment and underwriting standards as other private entity applicants.

Is there a possibility of MnCIFA & outside lenders working together? Do you publish a list of private project finance entities who co-invest with MnCIFA?

MnCIFA’s statute requires MnCIFA to leverage public and private sources of capital. As such, we strongly encourage applications for projects that include other financiers in the capital stack, including other financial institutions, investors, state agencies, and/or philanthropic sources. We do not have a list of preferred private finance entities.

How does an expected tax credit payment figure into your capital stack percentage analysis for loan eligibility purposes?

Tax credit payments and their eligibility as a component to a project’s capital stack are determined by MnCIFA on a case-by-case basis. An analysis of tax credit type, tax credit monetization strategy, and project timelines is required prior to determining if the tax credit would be considered by MnCIFA as source of project financing or a repayment stream to MnCIFA and/or other capital providers to the project.