Tribal Energy Financing Program (TEFP / TELGP)

Tribal Energy Financing Program

Supports federally recognized tribes with federal financing for energy projects and infrastructure.

The Tribal Energy Financing Program (TEFP), administered by the DOE Office of Energy Dominance Financing, provides partial loan guarantees and direct loans to federally recognized Tribes and Tribal Energy Development Organizations (TEDOs) for energy development projects of any type. The program was originally authorized under Title XXVI of the Energy Policy Act of 1992, with direct lending authority added by the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2022 and made permanent by the Inflation Reduction Act, which raised aggregate loan guarantee authority to $20 billion. The IRA also appropriated $75 million in credit subsidy through September 30, 2028. The current solicitation documents are dated September 2023 (corrected July 18, 2023), and applications are accepted on a rolling basis.

Eligible borrowers are federally recognized Tribes, Alaska Native villages, regional and village corporations, and TEDOs wholly or partially owned by any of the above. Multiple Tribes may form a TEDO together to apply as a joint borrower. No application fees are charged. A significant 2026 policy change eliminated the Federal Support Restriction through the Working Families Tax Cut law, meaning Tribes can now stack TEFP loans with other federal grants, loan guarantees, and contracts for the same project — substantially broadening financing flexibility. This is a loan guarantee or direct loan instrument requiring repayment; it is distinct from the separate $50 million tribal energy grants program announced by the Office of Indian Energy Policy and Programs in March 2026.

The application process begins with a no-cost pre-application consultation at energy.gov/EDF/Pre-App. Community energy projects, grid-scale renewable installations, energy storage facilities, and transmission infrastructure on tribal lands all qualify, as the program imposes no restriction on energy project type. Tribal organizations that previously could not combine TEFP with other federal funding sources should reassess their financing structures in light of the 2026 Federal Support Restriction elimination.