Frequently Asked Questions

Yes, all national laboratories are eligible to apply to this FOA.  Please refer to Section III.A-C of the FOA for specific eligibility information regarding national laboratories. 

The required documents for the pre-application are (1) SF-424 Application for Financial Assistance, and (2) Preliminary Application Project Narrative.  Please read Section IV.C of the FOA, “Content and Form of Preliminary Applications”, for a description of these two required documents.

DOE cannot release information about upcoming Funding Opportunity Announcement’s (FOA) until they are publically posted. DOE representatives are not able to disclose future funding opportunities or plans.  Please check the Grants.gov website at  http://www.grants.gov periodically for new FOA’s. To receive notifications of newly posted FOA’s that fit your organization’s needs, please visit http://www.grants.gov. Email subscriptions can be set up on Grants.gov in the “For Applicants” section by clicking “Find Grant Opportunities” then clicking “Email Subscription”. 

The answer to this question depends on the level of innovation in the component and the level of technical risk in the demonstration.  As stated in Section I of the FOA, "Areas of Interest Excluded Under This FOA", this FOA will not fund "Incremental improvements to, or combinations of, existing products and technologies, wherein no significant advances in understanding or reductions in technical uncertainty are achieved" or "Demonstration projects that do not involve a significant degree of technical development risk."  If the component is a significant advancement over today's technology and relevant to SunShot cost reduction goals, please do submit a preliminary application.

As stated in Section VIII.D of the FOA, “Proprietary Application Information”, DOE will use data and other information contained in applications strictly for evaluation purposes. Applicants should not include confidential, proprietary, or privileged information in their applications unless such information is necessary to convey an understanding of the proposed project. Applications containing confidential, proprietary, or privileged information must be marked according to the directions in Section VIII.D. 

The objective of this Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA) is to fund revolutionary applied scientific research that develops highly disruptive Concentrating Solar Power (CSP) technologies, which may also be referred to as concentrating solar thermal power or solar thermal electric power. Therefore, research that is focused on Concentrating Photovoltaics (CPV) would not be considered responsive to the objectives of the FOA.

The objective of this Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA) is to fund revolutionary applied scientific research that develops highly disruptive Concentrating Solar Power (CSP) technologies, which may also be referred to as concentrating solar thermal power or solar thermal electric power. To receive notifications of newly posted FOAs that fit your organization’s needs, please visit http://www.grants.gov. Email subscriptions can be set up on Grants.gov in the “For Applicants” section by clicking “Find Grant Opportunities” then clicking “Email Subscription”.

Unfortunately, the SunShot CSP R&D Funding Opportunity Announcement is a competitive announcement and private discussions with DOE regarding prospective applications, while the announcement is open, are prohibited. DOE cannot predetermine the suitability or viability of proposed research in advance of the merit review process.  It is up to prospective applicants to review the requirements of the FOA and assess the merits of their proposed project to determine whether or not to apply. 

Answer 1) The net cycle efficiency is referring to the peak thermodynamic efficiency of the solar contribution to the power conversion cycle after parasitic losses are taken into account.  The efficiency of the solar contribution is: Net electric from solar / Thermal input to thermal cycle from solar.  For a hybrid system with fossil, there are several potential methods for determining this efficiency.  One approach is: Net solar contributed electric efficiency = [Net electric(solar-fossil combined) (kW) - Net electric (fossil only) (kW)] / Thermal input (solar) (kWth).  Another approach is to compare the output at 100% with fossil only vs. fossil-solar combined such that: Net solar contributed electric efficiency = Net electric(solar) / Thermal input (solar) (kWth), where Net electric(solar) = Net Electric (100%)*[1-(Thermal input (fossil)(in hybrid mode)/Thermal input (fossil)(fossil only mode)].

Answer 2) Page 13 of the FOA states, "The net cycle efficiency target of 50% or greater must be achieved at a dry-cooling ambient design temperature of 43°C (110°F) and a design point and annual resource of 950 W/m2 and 2500 kWh/m2-yr, respectively, at 35 degrees latitude.  Location and climate assumptions should be representative of the U.S. Southwest."  We recognize that this is an aggressive goal to achieve this thermodynamic cycle efficiency at these elevated temperatures, and that the design conditions are not considered to be "standard atmospheric conditions" such as EPA or ISO.  Since we did not specify atmospheric pressure or humidity, applicants are encouraged to use typical metrological values for the Southwestern U.S. regions with high solar insolation.  The NREL System Advisor Model provides annual climate data for many locations. 

The referenced paper expresses efficiency in terms of annual total solar to electric efficiency.  It uses a method of efficiency = electric generation from solar contribution divided by (DNI x mirror collector area).  We are referring to the peak net 50% thermodynamic cycle efficiency which is not related to the solar field collection efficiency. 

The objective of this Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA) is to fund revolutionary applied scientific research that develops highly disruptive Concentrating Solar Power (CSP) technologies, which may also be referred to as concentrating solar thermal power or solar thermal electric power. Therefore, research that is focused on Photovoltaics (PV) would not be considered responsive to the objectives of the FOA.

The FOA states, "The research funded under this FOA will focus on advanced collectors, receivers, power cycles, and associated hardware.  Advanced thermal energy storage proposals will not be considered, as the recent ARPA-E High Energy Advanced Thermal Storage (HEATS) funding opportunity, DE-FOA-0000471, included advanced thermal energy storage for CSP."  Topics 1-3 are intended to focus on the respective subsystem designs and hardware, and Topic 4  is intended to be an early stage research directly related to Topics 1-3. Thus, R&D only on the heat transfer fluid itself would not be considered responsive to the objectives of the SunShot Concentrating Solar Power R&D FOA.

1.  Page 6 of the FOA contains a simplified graph showing CSP LCOE reduction.  The cost of a tower is included within the "Receiver" category.  For power towers in particular, the Power Tower Technology Roadmap and Cost Reduction Plan (http://prod.sandia.gov/techlib/access-control.cgi/2011/112419.pdf) can be referenced to see which components comprise each subsystem.

2.  The graph on page 6 of the FOA is not intended to be used as a strict guide for calculating LCOE.  LCOE is an in-depth calculation that is meant to include all costs associated with a project, and the SAM model is set up to include these parameters.  For more information, please visit https://www.nrel.gov/analysis/sam/cost_data.html, which contains several references describing CSP cost models.

1.     Entities not incorporated in the United States are not eligible to apply as the prime applicant.  However, foreign participants are allowed as subrecipients to a domestic entity provided that:

·        The foreign subrecipient(s), in aggregate, shall not receive more than 20% of the total estimated DOE funding.

·        The foreign subcontract supports a direct and substantial collaboration with the prime applicant and/or its U.S.-based subrecipients.

Please refer to Section III.A of the FOA for further eligibility information.

 2.     For selected applicants, work can take place in any U.S. state.

The phase structure provided in the FOA is for guidance purposes only, as DOE recognizes that each proposal will be at a unique stage of development.  Thus, these phase structures may be modified to suit the needs of each particular project.  There are no requirements for entrance or exit TRL levels for this FOA; the only requirement is that the project advance the technology at least one TRL level.  For pilot-scale testing, which for the purposes of this FOA is considered a demonstration activity, the project must involve a significant degree of technical development risk. 

Page 12 of the FOA states, "The overarching target that supersedes all other performance targets is the SunShot Initiative goal of 6¢/kWh by the end of the decade.  However, Applicants should also strive to meet the Primary Technical Targets outlined below.  Applications should have a well‐justified, realistic potential to meet or exceed the Primary Technical Targets by the end of the period of performance for the proposed project; however, exceptions may be made if the Applicant can convincingly justify that the 6¢/kWh LCOE target is served with the proposed component or system without meeting one or more of the Primary Technical Targets.  For any LCOE claims or estimates that are made, the corresponding LCOE model and assumptions must be included.  Preference will be given to applications that have a well‐justified, realistic potential to meet or exceed the Secondary Technical Targets.  The Primary Technical Targets and Secondary Technical Targets are stated below.  For seedlings, the same primary and secondary technical targets may also apply depending on the seedling technological area."

Thus, it is possible for a proposal to go outside the bounds of the primary technical targets; however, the applicant must show how SunShot Initiative goals are served without meeting one or more of the primary technical targets.

The cost share information should be provided on page 3 of the SF-424 Application for Federal Assistance. 

A statement of commitment for cost share funds is not required for the Preliminary Application, but is a requirement for the Full Application.

As stated in Question 14 on the Exchange website, entities not incorporated in the United States are not eligible to apply as the prime applicant.  However, foreign participants are allowed as subrecipients to a domestic entity provided that:

·                The foreign subrecipient(s), in aggregate, shall not receive more than 20% of the total estimated DOE funding.

·                The foreign subcontract supports a direct and substantial collaboration with the prime applicant and/or its U.S.-based subrecipients.

Please refer to Section III.A of the FOA for further eligibility information.

As stated in the FOA, all entities incorporated in the United States are eligible to apply for this FOA as prime applicants, except nonprofit organizations described in section 501(c)(4) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 that engaged in lobbying activities after December 31, 1995.  At least 80% of the direct labor costs for projects funded under this FOA must be incurred in the United States, unless the Applicant can demonstrate to the satisfaction of the DOE that the United States economic interest will be better served through a greater percentage of the work being performed outside the United States.

Entities not incorporated in the United States are not eligible to apply as the prime applicant.  However, foreign participants are allowed as subrecipients to a domestic entity provided that:

·                The foreign subrecipient(s), in aggregate, shall not receive more than 20% of the total estimated DOE funding.

·                The foreign subcontract supports a direct and substantial collaboration with the prime applicant and/or its U.S.-based subrecipients.

Please refer to Section III.A of the FOA for further eligibility information.

To clarify, the SF-424 Application for Federal Assistance and the SF-424A Budget Information are two separate forms.  The SF-424 Application for Federal Assistance only requires the total DOE Share and total Cost Share.  The SF424 Application for Federal Assistance is required in both the Preliminary Application and the Full Application. 

The SF-424A Budget Information is the form that lists costs by category, which may trigger the internal risk reviews and procedures.  This form is required for the Full Application only.  As a result, there is no need to mark either the SF-424 or the SF-424A as “budgetary”.

Answer 1) Estimated funding is included in the SF424, which is required as part of the preliminary application.  A detailed project schedule is not required for the preliminary application.

Answer 2) High-level information for CSP awards currently funded by DOE can be found on the Solar Program's website at http://www1.eere.energy.gov/solar/csp_program.html and http://www1.eere.energy.gov/solar/csp_pr2011.html.  Proposals submitted to DOE are held in confidence and are not available for distribution.

Answer 3) It depends on the result of the proposed project.  If the result will be at least a tested prototype, the proposal would fall under Topic 1.  If the result will be at least a proof of concept, the proposal would fall under Topic 4.  There is no minimum size or funding threshold for any topic in this FOA, and thus small or low-dollar proposals are not excluded from applying to any of the four topics.

The NREL System Advisor Model (SAM), which can be downloaded for free at https://www.nrel.gov/analysis/sam/, contains default values for CSP systems that are representative of current technology.  DOE has recently completed and published technology roadmaps for parabolic troughs (http://www.nrel.gov/docs/fy11osti/48175.pdf) and power towers (http://prod.sandia.gov/techlib/access-control.cgi/2011/112419.pdf) that further defines the baseline technology.

The system has been configured to allow Microsoft Word versions of the SF-424 Application.  Please try to upload the Word version of the document again.

As stated in Section III.B of the FOA, “Cost Sharing”, institutions of higher education, nonprofit organizations, U.S. national laboratories, and/or FFRDCs have a 20% cost share requirement for R&D activities and a 50% cost share requirement for Demonstration activities.  Task 4 on page 54 of the announcement is an example of an Education / Outreach activity, which has a 0% cost share requirement.  The SunShot CSP FOA is only funding R&D and Demonstration activities, so the 0% cost share will not apply to any work under this FOA.  All topics under this FOA carry a cost share requirement.  Please see Section III.B for additional details.

Pre-Application requirements are discussed in Section IV.C of the FOA, “Content and Form of Preliminary Applications”.  The SF-424 Application for Federal Assistance can be downloaded from the Exchange website, https://eere-exchange.energy.gov/, after clicking on “View Required Application Documents”.  The Preliminary Application Narrative must contain all the elements listed in Section IV.C.2 of the FOA.

No, the Letter of Support would not count towards the 5-page limit of the Preliminary Application Narrative.

1) As stated in Question and Answer #6 on the Exchange website, the objective of this Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA) is to fund revolutionary applied scientific research that develops highly disruptive Concentrating Solar Power (CSP) technologies, which may also be referred to as concentrating solar thermal power or solar thermal electric power. Therefore, research that is focused on Concentrating Photovoltaics (CPV) would not be considered responsive to the objectives of the FOA.

2) Please refer to Topic 1: Advanced Collectors. However, DOE cannot predetermine the suitability or viability of proposed research in advance of the merit review process.  It is up to prospective applicants to review the requirements of the FOA and assess the merits of their proposed project to determine whether or not to apply

As stated in Section II.E of the FOA, “Anticipated Award Size”, the anticipated award size for projects under each Topic Area in this announcement is:

Exchange automatically assigns your application a control number when the preliminary application is created.  After registering in Exchange, go to the FOA page and click  “Apply”, fill out the requested information, then click “Create Concept Paper”.  Once you click this button, your application will be assigned  a control number.  To view your control number, click on “My Submissions” in the left navigation.  For more information on this process, see the  EERE Exchange Applicant User Guide, which can be accessed at https://eere-exchange.energy.gov/Manuals.aspx after logging in.

Answer: The objective of this Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA) is to fund revolutionary applied scientific research that develops highly disruptive Concentrating Solar Power (CSP) technologies, which may also be referred to as concentrating solar thermal power or solar thermal electric power. Therefore, since inverters are associated with photovoltaic (PV) technology, R&D related to inverters would not be considered responsive to the objectives of the SunShot Concentrating Solar Power R&D FOA.

 As stated in Question and Answer #19 on Exchange, entities not incorporated in the United States are not eligible to apply as the prime applicant.  However, foreign participants are allowed as subrecipients to a domestic entity provided that:

The foreign subrecipient(s), in aggregate, shall not receive more than 20% of the total estimated DOE funding.

The foreign subcontract supports a direct and substantial collaboration with the prime applicant and/or its U.S.-based subrecipients.

Please refer to Section III.A of the FOA for further eligibility information.

The FFRDC Authorization should be included in the Full Application. It is not necessary for the Preliminary Application.

Unfortunately, the SunShot CSP R&D Funding Opportunity Announcement is a competitive announcement and private discussions with DOE regarding prospective applications, while the announcement is open, are prohibited.  Applicants are responsible for forming their own partnerships and subrecipient relationships.  However, novel CSP concepts or high-impact ideas related to CSP subsystems can apply to Topic 4, Seedling CSP Concepts. 

 DOE has recently completed and published technology roadmaps for parabolic troughs (http://www.nrel.gov/docs/fy11osti/48175.pdf) and power towers (http://prod.sandia.gov/techlib/access-control.cgi/2011/112419.pdf) that defines the baseline technology.  The power tower roadmap also includes a section on the SunShot Initiative.  Further information can be found within the presentation content of previous DOE CSP workshops, including http://www1.eere.energy.gov/solar/csp_sunshot_2011.html.  You can also visit the SunShot Initiative homepage at http://www1.eere.energy.gov/solar/sunshot/.

 Page 1 of the FOA states, " The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) seeks to fund revolutionary applied scientific research that develops highly disruptive Concentrating Solar Power (CSP) technologies that will meet 6¢/kWh cost targets by the end of the decade.  This Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA) for “SunShot Concentrating Solar Power R&D” intends to support research into technologies that have the potential for much higher efficiency, lower cost, and/or more reliable performance than existing commercial and near-commercial CSP systems and their expected incremental progress in future years."  All concentrating solar thermal power technologies that convert heat into electricity are included in the objectives of this FOA, including dish concentrators.

Please see the Funding Opportunity Announcement Section IV.C. titled Content and Form of Preliminary Applications for complete details and requirements of the preliminary application.

Yes, additional cost share partners can be identified in the Full Application, if the applicant is invited to submit a Full Application. Cost share can be provided by a third party and should be reflected in the recipient cost share section of the budget as well as added to total project dollars. Please see  SECTION IV.D.vi – APPLICATION AND SUBMISSION INFORMATION regarding commitment letters and the prime recipient budget justification. 

 Yes, the header/footer can be in the 1" margin area. However, the header/footer should only include basic information such as the title of the project and/or page numbers.

Competition Identification Numbers are not applicable to this FOA. Therefore, Item #13 on the SF424 Application for Federal Assistance is not a required field. The Funding Opportunity Announcement Number DE-FOA-0000595 should be entered into Item #12.

1) Page 1 of the FOA states, " The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) seeks to fund revolutionary applied scientific research that develops highly disruptive Concentrating Solar Power (CSP) technologies that will meet 6¢/kWh cost targets by the end of the decade.  This Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA) for “SunShot Concentrating Solar Power R&D” intends to support research into technologies that have the potential for much higher efficiency, lower cost, and/or more reliable performance than existing commercial and near-commercial CSP systems and their expected incremental progress in future years."  All concentrating solar thermal power technologies that convert heat into electricity are included in the objectives of this FOA, including novel concentrator technologies.

2) and 3) Section II.C Maximum and Minimum Award Size and Section II.E Anticipated Award Size is total DOE funding for the entire project, not for a single year.  Per page 10-11 of the FOA, "Seedling proposals must be identified as such and will not exceed 3 years in project period and $1M DOE funding."

 In Section 1 of the FOA under "General Structure of FOA," the FOA states, " The collector field (materials plus labor) represents the largest single capital investment in a CSP plant and is typically composed of many individual collectors, and thus advanced manufacturing, assembly, and installation processes will be considered" and " This FOA is targeting low-cost collectors on the order of $75/m2 or less that lend themselves to automated manufacturing, minimal field grading and site preparation, and rapid installation."  Thus, the objectives of this FOA include innovative construction and installation facilities and procedures.

The Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance (CFDA) Number for this announcement is: 81.087

Please see SECTION IV – APPLICATION AND SUBMISSION INFORMATION of the Funding Opportunity Announcement for submission details and file types.  If offered an invitation to submit a full application to the FOA, you will have the opportunity to submit further information to clarify.

The Funding Opportunity Announcement DE-FOA0000595 is available on the EERE Exchange system at https://eere-exchange.energy.gov/ under ‘FOA Documents’.  However, please note the preliminary application for this FOA was due November 22, 2011 5:00pm Eastern Time.

Unfortunately, the results of the preliminary application merit review process are final. As stated in the FOA, after the initial compliance review, preliminary applications underwent a merit review process where applications were evaluated according to the Preliminary Application Merit Review Criteria listed in V.A.2. by independent merit reviewers. This FOA is a competitive solicitation and private discussions with DOE personnel, while the announcement is open, are prohibited.

The results of the preliminary application merit review process are final and cannot be modified. As stated in the FOA, after the initial compliance review, preliminary applications underwent a merit review process where applications were evaluated according to the Preliminary Application Merit Review Criteria listed in V.A.2. by independent merit reviewers. This FOA is a competitive solicitation and private discussions with DOE personnel, while the announcement is open, are prohibited.

As stated on the cover page of the FOA, only Applicants who submit Preliminary Applications by the due date and whose Preliminary Applications are selected will be eligible to submit a Full Application.  Please visit www.Grants.gov for other funding opportunities.

 Unfortunately, the merit review decision on preliminary applications is final. As stated in the FOA, after the initial compliance review, preliminary applications underwent a merit review process where applications were evaluated according to the Preliminary Application Merit Review Criteria listed in V.A.2. by independent merit reviewers. Please see 10 CFR 600.22 for information on the appeal process for federal financial assistance.

The SOPO template is located on the Exchange website (https://eere-exchange.energy.gov/#a5589021-adde-4e8b-a892-3f4c361e4653).  Please click on “View Required Application Documents” to access the SOPO template.

For institutions of higher education, non-profit organizations, U.S. national laboratories, and or FFRDC’s, the 20% cost share requirement for R&D activities applies to the total project costs, regardless of the source of the non-federal funds.  The non-federal funds may be contributed by the prime awardee only, the subawardee(s) only, or a combination of sources, as long as the minimum required cost share of 20% of the total project costs is satisfied. Please see Section III.B. of the FOA for additional information.

1.       Letters of commitment must come from any third party contributing cost share funds.  The letter should identify the proposed cost sharing (e.g., cash, services, and/or property) to be contributed, and the letters must be signed by the person authorized to commit the expenditure of funds by the entity. If the primary applicant provides the cost share, a letter of commitment is  not necessary.

2.       The funds do not need to be in the primary applicant’s control when applying to this Funding Opportunity Announcement.  Third party(ies) providing cost share may wait until an awardee is selected and the award is finalized to transfer funds to the primary recipient.

The resumes for key participants should be uploaded to Exchange as part of the project narrative, not as a stand-alone file.  The resume pages will not be counted towards the page limit of the project narrative.

The information requested in Section IV.D.3.viii. of the FOA should be submitted for all financial assistance awards regardless of source (e.g. federal, state or private) that are for:  any research or other project that is related in any way to the research or project currently being proposed for funding from DOE; OR, that involve the same, an associated, a complementary or a related technology.

Determinations of subrecipient versus vendor/contractor status for DOE financial assistance awards is a fact-dependant and award-specific inquiry that can only be made by DOE after taking into account the nature of the work the entity is doing and their role within the award.  However,  Universities are most often found by DOE to be subrecipients as they will likely be participants in the performance of the award, provide cost share,  or otherwise have an interest in achieving the overall goals of the DOE award.  In contrast, to be categorized as a vendor (what you refer to as contractors above) an entity would need to be able to show that they provide the same goods or services in the course of their regular commercial business to many different purchasers in a competitive environment, the goods or services are ancillary to the federal program, and they must not have any other interest in or obligation toward the outcome of the project as a whole. 

It is anticipated that Federally Funded Research and Development Center (FFRDC) team members will be funded directly through the field work proposal system, therefore, please do not add any indirect costs associated with FFRDC costs to your budget.  However, FFRDC project costs should be included in the budget, so that the reviewers have an accurate picture of the total DOE funds requested, both for the applicant and for any FFRDC team members.

The cognizant Contracting Officer for the FFRDC must authorize in writing the use of a DOE/NNSA FFRDC contractor on the proposed project and this authorization must be submitted with the application. The authorization may be a signed Field Work Proposal, however, please also see Section III.C of the FOA for an example of the language required for the authorization letter.

There is not a restriction against a PI from one topic area partnering with a PI on another topic area.  However, please review Section IV.D.3.iv of the FOA, which states:

The applicant, whether a single organization or team/partnership/consortium, must indicate if the project will include multiple PIs.  The decision to use multiple PIs for a project is the sole responsibility of the applicant.  If multiple PIs will be designated, the application must identify the Contact PI/Project Coordinator and provide a “Coordination and Management Plan” that describes the organization structure of the project as it pertains to the designation of multiple PIs.  This plan should, at a minimum, include:

§  Process for making decisions on scientific/technical direction;

§  Publications;

§  Intellectual property issues;

§  Communication plans;

§  Procedures for resolving conflicts; and

§  PIs’ roles and administrative, technical and scientific responsibilities for the project.

 The 20% cost share requirement for institutions of higher education, nonprofit organizations, U.S. national laboratories, and/or FFRDCs is based on the Total Project Costs, including any FFRDC funds.  As an example, the minimum Applicant cost share requirement for a hypothetical project with a Non-Profit Prime Recipient with a Total R&D Project Cost of $1,875,000 and a 20% cost share requirement would be:

Applicant share, 20%              $375,000

DOE share, 80%                       $1,500,000

Total Project Cost:                   $1,875,000

Please review Section III.B and Appendix C of the FOA for further details. Please keep in mind that FFRDC funding is DOE funding.

 1) Yes, the incorporation of go/no-go decision points into the project management plan is acceptable and desirable by DOE for all applications, including Topic 4.  Although Topic 4 projects can be carried out in a single phase, the expectation is that decision points and milestones will be identified in the application.  As stated in Section IV.D.3.ii of the FOA, "Project Timetable and Milestones: This section should outline as a function of time, by year, all the important activities or phases of the project.  This plan should identify the decision points and go/no-go criteria to be used as key milestones and metrics for scientific success.  A time schedule for accomplishments of the activities/tasks, the spending plan associated with the activities/tasks, and the expected date for the release of outcomes.  Successful applicants must use this project timetable to report progress."

A sample reporting checklist and instructions (DOE F 4600.2) is available on the DOE website, at http://energy.gov/management/office-management/operational-management/financial-assistance/financial-assistance-forms.

Unfortunately, the only information we can provide to you is that which is already publicly available.  DOE representatives are not able to disclose future Funding Opportunities or plans.

The Fiscal Year 2012 budget of the United States Government is available at http://www.whitehouse.gov/omb/budget/Overview. Please visit the Department of Energy Document for more information on the budget for the Department of Energy.

DOE anticipates notifying applicants selected for award by April 2012. Please see Section V.C. of the FOA for more information.

As stated in Section V.C of the FOA, DOE anticipates notifying applicants selected for award by April 2012 and making awards by May 2012, so for budgeting purposes, please use May 1, 2012 as the project start date.

The PMC 123.1 Budget Justification form has been uploaded to the “Required Application Documents” section in Exchange.  You may either use this form for the Prime Recipient and Subrecipient Budget Justifications, or you may create your own budget justification document following the instructions provided in Appendix E.

It is acceptable to provide a vendor quote or a copy of the contract with these vendors, showing the services to be provided and the associated cost.  If the quote or contract is not yet available, please complete both a SF-424A and a Budget Justification for vendors with costs of $100,000 or more.

1.       The Total Project Cost in the example above is $1,200,000 (DOE Share + Prime Applicant Cost Share + Federal Lab Costs). 

2.       The 20% cost share requirement applies to the Total Project Cost, so in the example above, $1,000,000 would be provided by DOE, so the Primary Applicant would be responsible for 20% of the total project costs or $250,000 and would need to be provided by non-federal sources.

3.       It is the responsibility of the applicant to negotiate cost share commitments with subrecipients, including Federal Labs.

Yes, it is acceptable to include the resume file as an appendix to the Project Narrative.  This will not count towards the page limit of the Project Narrative.

Please upload the written proposals from subcontractors that are part of the budget justification as one additional file, rather than including them in the Project Narrative.  The option to upload additional files should appear at the bottom of the Upload & Submit tab in Exchange.

The 20% cost share requirement for R&D activities for Institutions of higher education, nonprofit organizations, U.S. national laboratories, and/or FFRDCs is based on the Total Project Costs. Keep in mind that FFRDC funding is DOE funding. Please see the example below.

Formula: Federal share ($) divided by Federal share (%) = Total Project Cost

Example: $1,000,000 divided by 80% = $1,250,000 Total Project Costs

DOE Share (including FFRDC): $1,000,000

Recipient Share: $250,000