EERE eXCHANGE: FAQs

Question 1: Would you accept a proposal that has to do with ocean wave kinetic energy conversion technology that generates electricity?
Answer 1:

No. This FOA is only seeking a Prize Administrator with expertise in prize competitions not technology proposals.

Please monitor the EERE Exchange website, https://eere-exchange.energy.gov/, for other opportunities that your organization may be interested in and eligible to apply for.

Question 2: It seems that you are soliciting proposals that have to do with administration NOT technology such as mechanical system design that offers the means of generating electricity from the ocean wave kinetic energy. Am I right?
Answer 2:

Yes, this FOA is only seeking proposals from those with expertise in administration of prize competitions to collaborate with DOE, technical experts, and a wave tank testing facility in developing and implementing the Wave Energy Converter (WEC) Prize.

Question 3: Is it possible to print out a checklist with all of the steps to be taken in the process of applying for financial assistance and grants?
Answer 3: No. Please see section IV. Application and Submission Information in the FOA document for guidance on the process to apply.

Please also reference the Users’ Guide for Applying to the Department of Energy EERE Funding Opportunity Announcements found at https://eere-Exchange.energy.gov/Manuals.aspx.

Question 4: In reference to the above named FOA, can you please clarify whether the term applicant refers to an individual or an institution. So, where the limit on the number of submissions is one per applicant, does this mean each individual can submit one proposal or each institution?
Answer 4: As stated in the FOA, Appendix A – Definitions; “Applicant” means the legal entity or individual signing the application. Please also see Section III for eligibility information. The Applicant is limited to one submission. However, this limitation does not prohibit an Applicant from collaborating on other applications (e.g., as a potential Subrecipient or partner) so long as the entity is only listed as the Prime Applicant on one Concept Paper and Full Application submitted under this FOA.

Question 5: Although the competition is domestic (e.g. no foreign travel), can the prize administrator propose to make it a global competition by utilizing outside funding, beyond U.S. government funds? During the actual competition, can prize money be awarded to a solver team that does not have a domestic partner? In the actual competition, are international teams eligible to participate?
Answer 5:

This WEC Prize competition’s statutory authority derives from the America Creating Opportunities to Meaningfully Promote Excellence in Technology, Education, and Science (COMPETES) Reauthorization Act of 2010 (codified at 15 U.S.C. §3719) and the Department of Energy Organization Act (codified at 42 USC §7101). Accordingly, the Prize Administrator must conduct the WEC Prize competition in accordance with these statutory authorities and other requirements. In particular, the America COMPETES Reauthorization Act of 2010 limits eligibility: “To be eligible to win a prize under this section, an individual or entity…in the case of a private entity, shall be incorporated in and maintain a primary place of business in the United States, and in the case of an individual, whether participating singly or in a group, shall be a citizen or permanent resident of the United States.” DOE emphasizes that all funds and other support provided by the U.S. DOE for monetary awards and for running the WEC Prize initiative (including but not limited to administration activities, technical and facility support from Program-Identified Partners) must only benefit the individuals and entities that meet the eligibility criteria in the COMPETES Reauthorization Act of 2010.

To the extent that a FOA applicant wants to propose a situation where foreign participants enter the competition using non-federal funds in compliance with the statutory authorities cited above, DOE will consider those applications. Please note, if this is proposed, DOE has concerns regarding the compliance with the statutory authorities, the public impression of a non-U.S. “win”, and potential detriments to the portion of the effort spent on the U.S. portion of the competition through the Prize Administrator’s effort expended in raising external funds.

Question 6: Can DOE talk about the expected working relationship between the Prize Administrator and DOE?
Answer 6: Section VI.C.8 of the FOA describes EERE’s policy on “substantial involvement” between the Program and the Prime Recipient during the performance period. The work relationship can be further clarified with the selected awardee during award negotiation.

Question 7: Is the WEC Prize intended to pull from US based competitors or is it unlimited in it's intended scope and participant pool?
Answer 7: The prize competition will be conducted in accordance with the prize authority established in the America COMPETES Reauthorization Act of 2010 (15 U.S.C. §3719). Most Funding Opportunity Announcements are intended to benefit US-based entities, as they derive from US taxpayer dollars.

Question 8: What restrictions are envisioned to avoid having conflicts of interest arising from previous work between the administrator and the competition participants? This is a small industry.
Answer 8: As the WEC administrator, the administrator must operate without conflicts of interest and must find ways to mitigate them. It is ultimately the administrator’s responsibility to avoid these conflicts; however, the administrator can discuss ways to avoid conflicts of interest with EERE during the prize competition.

Question 9: Would you accept a proposal that has to do with generating electricity by converting the ocean wave kinetic energy?
Answer 9: The objective of this FOA is to select an entity to administer the WEC Prize. Applications relating to MHK device design, building, and/or testing are not of interest, will be deemed nonresponsive, and will not be reviewed or considered (Section I.C of the FOA).

Question 10: How is our IP protected within this competition?
Answer 10: Please reference Section VI.C.9 and VIII.M in the FOA.

Question 11: Does it mean that device design is not applicable for this FOA?
Answer 11:

Yes. That is correct. We are only anticipating to receive applications that are to conduct the administration of the Wave Energy Converter prize. We will not review or consider eligible any applications that are for design or development of a technology.

Question 12: Can devices utilizing ocean water for energy conversion be included?
Answer 12: Please see the Q&A log of the FOA in Exchange at https://eere-exchange.energy.gov/FAQ.aspx?FoaId=b90bb713-09f9-48d4-ae03-37263f4b0c5a and reference question #9.

Question 13: Can we provide diagrams of our patented WavePump and Combined Energy System for comments?
Answer 13: Please see the Q&A log of the FOA in Exchange at https://eere-exchange.energy.gov/FAQ.aspx?FoaId=b90bb713-09f9-48d4-ae03-37263f4b0c5a and reference question #9.

Question 14: Even though the horse has left the barn, why is this prize being offered? The WEC cost is not the critical parameter; also the LCOE data relied on to justify this is at least 3 to 4 years out of date.
Answer 14: We've conducted Requests For Informaiton (RFI) from industry stakeholders and we are designing our program initiatives accordingly.

Question 15: The third judging criterion is evaluation of major flaws. Is this an evaluation of the proposed approach outlined in the FOA, or the approach being proposed by the applicant?
Answer 15: This refers to an evaluation of the approach proposed by the applicants.

Question 16: If I have a device I'd like to enter into the competition, when will that process begin?
Answer 16: Once the administrator has been selected, the rules and agreements for the prize competition will be defined and decided upon in the first phase of the WEC Prize administration project. You can anticipate that once those rules have been finalized, they will become public, thus starting the process for any competition participants to respond according to published rules.

Question 17: In terms of the Concept Paper, how specific do we need to be at this point with regards to the competition, specifically with the judging/milestones required of participants to advance?
Answer 17: The concept paper limits applicants to 3 pages for the main text and a 1 page addendum. It is important that you address the FOA criteria within the page limitations.

Question 18: How will this process protect entity IP?
Answer 18: The prize competition will be conducted in accordance with the prize authority established in the America COMPETES Reauthorization Act of 2010 (15 U.S.C. §3719). Please reference Section VI.C.9 and VIII.M in the FOA for further information.

Question 19: How long is the competition development phase anticipated to last and does that time count as part of the 24 month time period?
Answer 19: This time does count toward the 24 months of the project period of performance of the award. There is no hard timeline on the duration for this phase. Please utilize your expertise as an administrator of prizes to lay out the most effective project schedules and timelines.

Question 20: Will the device have to be patented to be considered? Thank You.
Answer 20: This is a question about the prize competition rules. The rules will be refined and decided upon in the first phase of Administrators scope of work, prize development. You may note that the prize competition will be conducted in accordance with the prize authority established in the America COMPETES Reauthorization Act of 2010 (15 U.S.C. §3719).

Question 21: Will technical partners need to be required for prize administration?
Answer 21: There are already Program-Identified Partners that are funded outside of this award to support this project and need to be included in the overall project scope. It is up to the applicant team whether they want to apply with additional experts under their own applicant team.

Question 22: Can the whole prize design and implementation conclude in fewer than 24 months?
Answer 22: Yes.

Question 23: It was mentioned, and the FOA states that the named "program-identified partners" are excluded from applying to this FOA. Are contractors currently supporting a program-identified partner under contract to the partner organization, also excluded from direct participation in this FOA?
Answer 23: Only the program-identified partners are prohibited. Not their contractors/subcontractors, etc. For any further questions on eligibility, refer to section III.G. of the FOA: "Questions Regarding Eligibility."

Question 24: Could a prize be awarded for some other system component, other than the converter - for example a much lower cost/improved mooring system?
Answer 24: These types of detailed questions will be handled and communicated after the prize development phase that will be conducted by the administrator once selected and awarded.

Question 25: Is the WEC Prize intended to pull from US based competitors or is it unlimited in it’s intended scope and participant pool?
Answer 25: This is a question getting to the eligibility of the participants under the actual competition phase. All the eligibility requirements will be made clear with the publication of the prize competition rules after the first phase of prize development.

Question 26: To clarify, you are indicating that the 15 cents/KWh is a clear target that technical participants will need to meet. It sounds like the test facility partner and the experts that will become available will be resources that can advise the prize administrator on how tests can enable a cost/KWh calculation (including algorithms). Can you clarify this is true?
Answer 26:

The Program has established a broad Program Goal of WEC device LCOE of 15¢/kWh. Based on industry research during the WEC Prize development phase, the Prize Administrator will have the ability to refine this goal. The Prize Administrator will then formulate a concrete set of self-imposed Prize-Specific Objectives that, once met through achieved Competition Criteria and Performance Metric(s), will provide the pathway to achieving the LCOE goal.

The Competition Criteria and Performance Metric(s) will be developed during the prize design phase of the selected Prize Administrator’s scope of work. The Competition Criteria are the criteria against which the competition participants will be evaluated at various stages during the competition. The Competition Criteria will be developed to ensure that the prize winner(s) can demonstrate that the Prize-Specific Objectives have been met and the innovations will lead to economic viability of the technology at commercial scale in the open-ocean wave energy harvesting environment. The following criteria or a subset of these criteria are possible Competition Criteria: a proxy for device cost (size, weight, displaced volume); annual energy production and LCOE calculations at a reference resource; reliability and survivability of the concept; an operations and maintenance strategy; degree of environmental impacts and potential for mitigation; and potential for scaling the concept to commercialization scale. The Performance Metric(s) are a subset of the Competition Criteria and are technical, quantitative metrics (e.g. device energy capture efficiency) that will be developed specifically to evaluate competition participants during the tank testing and evaluation stage. Finally, the Program-Identified Partners are indeed a resource to the Prize Administrator. Please see Section I.B.3 of the FOA for a description of their anticipated work scope.

Question 27: Is there potential to extend the total timeline beyond 24 months?
Answer 27: The desired maximum period of performance per section II.A.2 is 24 months.

Question 28: Is it possible for that the 24 month time period to be extended? A competition that goes from design to testing is a lot to do in 24 months.
Answer 28: Please see the Q&A log of the FOA in Exchange at https://eere-exchange.energy.gov/FAQ.aspx?FoaId=b90bb713-09f9-48d4-ae03-37263f4b0c5a and reference question #27.

Question 29: Is this about wind energy or wave energy? I suspect a typo in some of the announcement text (wind should be wave)?
Answer 29: This FOA focuses on wave energy, not wind energy.

Question 30: We had a few questions about the Form SF-424 "Application for Federal Assistance". 1. What is a Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance Number? And, how can we find it as it relates to this opportunity? 2. What is the difference between Funding Opportunity Number and Competition Identification Number? Is the number DE-FOA-0000979 a sufficient answer for both? 3. How should we answer the Areas Affected by Project? Can we simply write "all states"? 4. We believe applications are not subject to review by state under the executive order 12372 process. How do we confirm this?
Answer 30: Please use the Instructions at the back of the SF424 Application for Federal Assistance for help on filling out the sections.
1. The CFDA number, 81.087, is specific to DOE and is provided on the first page of the FOA.
2. As this is a Funding Opportunity, please fill in block 12 but leave block 13, the Competition Identification Number and Title blank as it is not applicable as advised in the instructions.
3. For Block 14, Areas Affected by the Project, please only list the applicant information.
4. Please see section IV.H of the FOA which states that the WWPTO is not subject to Executive Order 12372 so please check box “c. Program is not covered.”

Question 31: Regarding DOE "seeking a Prize Administrator with expertise in prize competitions to collaborate with DOE, technical experts, and a wave tank testing facility...", have the "technical experts" already been identified? If not, is it possible for me to be part of a team that submits a proposal to the funding opportunity so as to become part of the development and implementation process?
Answer 31:

The technical experts are Program-Identified Partners, and have already been identified by the program. An applicant team that wishes to submit a proposal with additional applicant-identified technical experts in their applicant team may do so, though a close evaluation of potential for duplication of effort will be necessary. Other opportunities for interested parties to offer their technical expertise may exist during the development and implementation of the prize depending on the selected administrator's proposed scope of work. For example, refer to FOA Section I.B.2:
3. WEC Prize Development. a. Reach out to industry stakeholders and other sources to refine the broad Program Goal, if necessary, and to provide background for the prize development process;
4. Competition Implementation. d. Secure, coordinate, and compensate (as applicable) judging panel(s) for evaluation(s).

Question 32: What role will EERE have in creating the terms and conditions of the prize? Will EERE lawyers need to approve the T&Cs of the competition?
Answer 32: Assuming this question relates to the role EERE has in finalizing the Competition Rules, please refer to the Statement of Substantial Involvement Section VI.C.8. The Prize Administrator, as Prime, will be responsible (refer to section III.E.2.vi of the FOA) including leading the development of the Prize rules. At a minimum, the administrator should anticipate that EERE lawyers review the competition rules to ensure they are in accordance with DOE's legal authorities. If this question relates to the Terms and Conditions of the award contract between EERE and the Administrator selected for award under this FOA, DOE has vetted approved standard Terms and Conditions that are used for all Financial Assistance awards. Final terms and conditions of this award will definitely require the approval of our legal team.

Question 33: 1. When does the contest administrator gain access to laboratory and technical experts - Before or after proposal submission? 2. Is the program goal of $.15/kWh fixed or open for discussion? 3. How was the budget created and can it be adjusted? 4. What is the prize adminstrators role in test and evaluation phases? 5. What is the criteria that contribute to the calculation ($.15/kWh) and was this determined with the PIPs? 6. Who will approve the Final Terms and Conditions? Will EERE have their own legal that also must approve it? 7. What is the control number that is required in the header? 8. Are cycle times up for negotiation?
Answer 33: 1. After selection, we would expect that the selectee/applicant would make contact with those entities and refine the scope of work. Again, we tried to provide as much information as we possible in terms of the Program-Identified Partner roles, but we expect that this would be refined during the negotiation process.
2. In the FOA, you will see that one of the tasks under prize administrator activity in the first phase, Prize Development, includes an opportunity to refine the LCOE goal. You will also recall that in the Statement of Substantial Involvement, EERE will of course be part of any conversations regarding refinement to that broad program goal.
3. We are going to do a high level recap of the funding structure and that is to say we have a maximum of $6.5M and up to $2M may be used for administrative activities. The remainder must be used the for monetary awards. We are leaving it up to applicant to decide distribution of those monetary awards.
4. We refer you to the FOA announcement itself. Testing and Evaluation is the final stage of the competition phase of the WEC prize initiative. To be clear here, we refer to the WEC prize as the overall initiative which includes phases, prize development, competition implementation and post competition wrap-up activities and publicity. Within the prize implementation phase, which is the second phase of the overall WEC prize, it is anticipated that the competition will have stages. The final stage is the Testing and Evaluation stage. Please refer to the Administrator's anticipated tasks in the test and evaluation under letter E on page 8.
5. The program goal is a broad program goal set by the Water Program.The Prize-Specific Objectives that need to be developed by the administrator is part of the Prize Development process. The Program Identified Partners will assist the administrator in the development of the prize specific objectives, that once accomplished, will provide the pathway to achieving the broad Program Goal, or the refined LCOE goal.
6. Please see the question and answer to number 32 in the FOA Q&A's in Exchange.
7. When you register in EERE Exchange, you will receive a control number. You should include this control number when you upload your documents so that we can track them.
8. The FOA schedule timeline is firm.

Question 34: We are hoping that you can advise the timeline for Concept Paper Notifications regarding the concept papers that we have submitted. We want to be sure that we plan appropriately for submitting a Full Application.
Answer 34: As stated in the FOA in section IV.D., Applicants will have approximately 30 days from receipt of the Concept Paper Encourage/Discourage notification to prepare and submit a Full Application. However, regardless of the date the Applicant receives the Encourage/Discourage notification, the submission deadline for the Full Application remains the date stated on the FOA cover page.

Question 35: How many teams were encouraged to submit a full application? What other entities were selected?
Answer 35: DOE will not release information on applicants who submit concept papers or full applications to the public or other applicants.

Question 36: Can the prize administrator be included as part of the prize name? What rules exist around co branding a prize?
Answer 36: This can be discussed during Award Negotiations.

Question 37: Can the prize administrator raise additional outside money to help it administer the prize?
Answer 37: Yes. The Program anticipates that within the Administrator’s scope of work, the Administrator will “pursue additional partners to provide supplementary financial/resource support to the WEC Prize and any non-monetary incentives to attract competition participants.” See Section I.B.2 – 3.C in the FOA.

Question 38: Is the $6.5m for the prize appropriated and guaranteed if the administrator meets the state gates and milestones? Or, is the funding contingent on future congressional appropriations?
Answer 38: EERE anticipates making one award that ranges up to $6.5 million and any additional funding is contingent on future appropriations. EERE will not guarantee funding prior to selection.

Question 39: As an internet platform for incentivized challenges, I'm reaching out to you because my team recently came across the DOE's Water Power Program and we think it could be a great partnership opportunity with our company.
Answer 39: Once a FOA has become public, DOE personnel cannot discuss a FOA “offline” or respond to questions on an individual basis. Please review the full FOA for complete information at https://eere-exchange.energy.gov/Default.aspx#FoaIdb90bb713-09f9-48d4-ae03-37263f4b0c5a. Please be aware that only parties who submitted a concept paper by the deadline of 4/7/2014 can now submit a full application. You can continue to monitor https://eere-exchange.energy.gov/ for information on current Funding Opportunity Announcements that your company may be interested in and eligible to apply for. After the FOA award selections have been made, DOE personnel will be available once again for offline discussions or questions on an individual basis.

Question 40: Is it possible to review the submissions from others that responded to the RFI? I did not know if these are publicly viewable.
Answer 40:

Please see the Q&A log of the FOA in Exchange at https://eere-exchange.energy.gov/FAQ.aspx?FoaId=b90bb713-09f9-48d4-ae03-37263f4b0c5a and reference question #35.

Question 41: Are you able to share how many people/organizations were encouraged to submit a full application and who those individuals are?
Answer 41: Please see the Q&A log of the FOA in Exchange at https://eere-exchange.energy.gov/FAQ.aspx?FoaId=b90bb713-09f9-48d4-ae03-37263f4b0c5a and reference question #35.

Question 42: What contract type does EERE have in mind for a the administration of the prize? Will it be cost plus fixed fee? Is there a model agreement already in place that DoE will use to negotiate? Is there a particular contract structure that comes with cooperative agreement, and what is that structure? For the “cooperative agreement” arrangement that DOE will enter into, what constitutes “substantial involvement” from the administrator? How often and in what ways will DOE be involved in making decisions about the prize?
Answer 42:

The type of funding agreement for this FOA is a cooperative agreement not a contract. A cooperative agreement is “a Financial Assistance instrument used by EERE to transfer money or property when the principal purpose of the transaction is to accomplish a public purpose of support or stimulation authorized by Federal statute, and Substantial Involvement is anticipated between EERE and the Applicant during the performance of the contemplated activity. Refer to 10 CFR 600.5 for additional information regarding cooperative agreements.”

Please review Section VI.C.8 for the Statement of Substantial Involvement between EERE and a Recipient. Details of DOE involvement will be considered during negotiations.

For further information, please also refer to the applicable Federal cost principles: 2 CFR 220 for Educational Institutions; 2 CFR 225 for State, Local, and Indian Tribal Governments; 2 CFR 230 for Non Profit Organizations; and FAR Part 31 for For-Profit entities.

Question 43: We recently came across this FOA on the EERE webpage. Although we have missed the date for a submission of a Concept Paper, we thought we’d get in touch due to years of experience in running competitions. We think this experience could be invaluable to the DOE’s proposed competition, and we wondered how we might be able to get involved.
Answer 43: Once a FOA has become public, DOE personnel cannot discuss a FOA “offline” or respond to questions on an individual basis. DOE will not release information on applicants who submit concept papers or full applications to the public or other applicants. After the FOA award selections have been announced (anticipated by 9/30/2014 as stated in the FOA), DOE personnel will be available once again for offline discussions or questions on an individual basis. Please continue to monitor https://eere-exchange.energy.gov/ for information on current Funding Opportunity Announcements that your company may be interested in and eligible to apply for.

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