FACTBOX: Renewable energy projects eligible for U.S. grants

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The Obama administration on Thursday unveiled guidelines that will allow companies to apply for some $3 billion in government grants to boost development of renewable energy projects around the country.

Following are the projects eligible for the money:

* Wind facility: uses wind to produce electricity. Wind turbines with capacity of 100 kilowatts (kW) or less may also qualify as a small wind energy property but only one payment is allowed with respect to the property.

* Closed-loop biomass facility: uses organic material from a plant grown exclusively for purposes of being used to generate electricity.

* Facility modified to use closed-loop biomass to co-fire with coal, other biomass, or both. Modification must be approved by the Biomass Power for Rural Development Program or be part of pilot project of the Commodity Credit Corporation.

* Open-loop biomass facility (cellulosic waste material): uses solid, nonhazardous, cellulosic waste material or any lignin material derived from qualified sources to produce electricity.

* Open-loop biomass facility (livestock waste nutrients): uses agricultural livestock waste nutrients to produce electricity and has a nameplate capacity rating of not less than 150 kW.

* Geothermal facility: uses geothermal energy to produce electricity.

* Landfill gas facility; uses gas derived from the biodegradation of municipal solid waste to produce electricity.

* Trash facility: uses municipal solid waste to produce electricity and is not a landfill gas facility.

* Hydropower facility (incremental hydropower): produces incremental hydropower production as a result of efficiency improvements and additions to capacity to which the incremental hydropower production is attributable.

* Hydropower facility: hydropower producing facility installed on a qualifying non-hydroelectric dam. The property must be licensed by FERC and meet all other applicable environmental, licensing, and regulatory requirements.

* Marine and hydrokinetic renewable energy facility: uses marine and hydrokinetic renewable energy to produce electricity and has a nameplate capacity rating of at least 150 kW.

* Solar electricity property: uses solar energy to generate electricity.

* Solar thermal property: uses solar energy to heat or cool (or provide hot water for use in) a structure, or to provide solar process heat (property used to generate energy for heating a swimming pool ineligible).

* Solar lighting property: uses solar energy to illuminate the inside of a structure using fiber-optic distributed sunlight.