As used in sections 640.651 to 640.686, the following terms mean:

(1) “Applicant”, any school, hospital, small business, local government or other energy-using sector or entity authorized by the department through administrative rule, which submits an application for loans on financial assistance to the department;

(2) “Application cycle”, the period of time each year, as determined by the department, that the department shall accept and receive applications seeking loans or financial assistance under the provisions of sections 640.651 to 640.686;

(3) “Authority”, the environmental improvement and energy resources authority;

(4) “Borrower”, a recipient of loan or other financial assistance program funds subsequent to the execution of loan or financial assistance documents with the department or other applicable parties provided that a building owned by the state or an agency thereof other than a state college or state university, shall not be eligible for loans or financial assistance pursuant to sections 640.651 to 640.686;

(5) “Building”, including initial installation in a new building, any applicant-owned and -operated structure, group of closely situated structural units that are centrally metered or served by a central utility plant, or an eligible portion thereof, which includes a heating or cooling system, or both;

(6) “Department”, the department of economic development;

(7) “Energy conservation loan account”, an account to be established on the books of a borrower for purposes of tracking information related to the receipt or expenditure of the loan funds or financial assistance, and to be used to receive and remit energy cost savings for purposes of making payments on the loan or financial assistance;

(8) “Energy conservation measure” or “ECM”, an installation or modification of an installation in a building or replacement or modification to an energy-consuming process or system which is primarily intended to maintain or reduce energy consumption and reduce energy costs, or allow the use of an alternative or renewable energy source;

(9) “Energy conservation project” or “project”, the design, acquisition, installation, and implementation of one or more energy conservation measures;

(10) “Energy cost savings” or “savings”, the value, in terms of dollars, that has or is estimated to accrue from energy savings or avoided costs due to implementation of an energy conservation project;

(11) “Estimated simple payback”, the estimated cost of a project divided by the estimated energy cost savings;

(12) “Fund”, the energy set-aside program fund established in section 640.665;

(13) “Hospital”, a facility as defined in subsection 2 of section 197.020, including any medical treatment or related facility controlled by a hospital board;

(14) “Hospital board”, the board of directors having general control of the property and affairs of the hospital facility;

(15) “Loan agreement”, a document agreed to by the borrower’s school, hospital or corporate board, principals of a business, the governing body of a local government or other authorized officials and the department or other applicable parties and signed by the authorized official thereof, that details all terms and requirements under which the loan is issued or other financial assistance granted, and describes the terms under which the loan or financial assistance repayment shall be made;

(16) “Payback score”, a numeric value derived from the review of an application, calculated as prescribed by the department, which may include an estimated simple payback or life-cycle costing method of economic analysis and used solely for purposes of ranking applications for the selection of loan and financial assistance recipients within the balance of program funds available;

(17) “Project cost”, all costs determined by the department to be directly related to the implementation of an energy conservation project, and, for initial installation in a new building, shall include the incremental cost of a high-efficiency system;

(18) “School”, an institution operated by a state college or state university, public agency, political subdivision or a public or private nonprofit organization tax exempt under Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code which:

(a) Provides, and is legally authorized to provide, elementary education or secondary education, or both, on a day or residential basis;

(b) Provides and is legally authorized to provide a program of education beyond secondary education, on a day or residential basis; admits as students only persons having a certificate of graduation from a school providing secondary education, or the recognized equivalent of such certificate; is accredited by a nationally recognized accrediting agency or association; and provides an educational program for which it awards a bachelor’s degree or higher degree or provides not less than a two-year program which is acceptable for full credit toward such a degree at any institution which meets the preceding requirements and which provides such a program; or

(c) Provides not less than a one-year program of training to prepare students for gainful employment in a recognized occupation; provides and is legally authorized to provide a program of education beyond secondary education, on a day or residential basis; admits as students only persons having a certificate of graduation from a school providing secondary education, or the recognized equivalent of such certificate; and is accredited by a nationally recognized accrediting agency or association;

(19) “School board”, the board of education having general control of the property and affairs of any school as defined in this section;

(20) “Technical assistance report”, a specialized engineering report that identifies and specifies the quantity of energy savings and related energy cost savings that are likely to result from the implementation of one or more energy conservation measures;

(21) “Unobligated balance”, that amount in the fund that has not been dedicated to any projects at the end of each state fiscal year.