UPDATE 1-DOE to make renewable energy loans this spring-Chu

(Adds Energy Secretary's comments

WASHINGTON, Feb 18 (Reuters) - U.S. Energy Secretary Steven Chu said on Wednesday the Energy Department will start "cutting checks" later this spring for loans connected to renewable energy projects.

While Chu spoke about "cutting checks," the Energy Department does not make direct loans but instead has a program that provides loan guarantees for energy projects.

Under the program, the department would pledge to repay a loan made by a financial institution for a renewable energy project if the project's operator defaults on the loan.

"Our target now is to begin cutting checks in the new loan guarantee programs by the end of April, beginning of May," Chu said.

Chu, speaking at the National Association of Regulatory Utility Commissioners's winter conference, did not specify which energy projects the department would approve.

However, he said the department would cut down on the approval time and ease the application process for such projects.

Chu said that before he headed the department, applications for loan guarantees ran from 500 to 1,000 pages. Now, he's reduced the applications to 50 pages.

"You don't need a thousand pages to show that this is a suitable loan," Chu said. (Reporting by Tom Doggett and Ayesha Rascoe; Editing by Christian Wiessner)