Frequently Asked Questions

The FOA document has been converted to .doc format and is now available for download on Exchange.

The Department of Energy regulations regarding cost sharing for Institutions of Higher Education and Other Non-Profit Entities are contained in 10 CFR 600.123.  Space, labor, equipment and material may be eligible for cost sharing, provided that they meet the requirements described in 10 CFR 600.123.  Please review the full text of 10 CFR 600.123, located at http://ecfr.gpoaccess.gov/cgi/t/text/text-idx?c=ecfr&sid=18e92cd59f43a30fb47010ba6ba0c907&rgn=div8&view=text&node=10:4.0.1.3.9.2.15.17&idno=10, for additional information.

DOE regulations governing cost sharing for State and Local  Governments are found in 10 CFR 600.224, http://ecfr.gpoaccess.gov/cgi/t/text/text-idx?c=ecfr&sid=202056411cd4f28636a53351ae4f5478&rgn=div8&view=text&node=10:4.0.1.3.9.3.20.14&idno=10.

DOE regulations governing cost sharing for For-Profit Organizations are found in 10 CFR 600.313, http://ecfr.gpoaccess.gov/cgi/t/text/text-idx?c=ecfr&sid=202056411cd4f28636a53351ae4f5478&rgn=div8&view=text&node=10:4.0.1.3.9.4.22.10&idno=10

No, DOE is not seeking individual test homes for plug and play systems.  Please see Section I of the FOA for information on the type of research that will be funded under this FOA.

As stated in Section II.A of the FOA, DOE anticipates awarding cooperative agreements under this announcement. Under cooperative agreements,  the payment of fee or profit to recipients or subrecipients is unallowable.  The only exceptions are the Small Business Innovation Research or Small Business Technology Transfer Research programs, which do not apply to this FOA.  Please see 10 CFR 600.318 for details.

The full FOA Announcement is located at https://eere-exchange.energy.gov/#bf5631a6-44d3-4d22-9034-9d0dc0bdf3d3 . Select the link that is listed under the FOA Documents section.

Unfortunately, the Plug and Play Photovoltaics 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. 

The applicant identifier is the control number assigned to your application by Exchange.  Please refer to the online instructions at http://www.grants.gov/assets/SF424Instructions.pdf for further information on how to complete the SF-424.

A PDF version of the FOA document has been uploaded to Exchange.  Please visit https://eere-exchange.energy.gov/#bf5631a6-44d3-4d22-9034-9d0dc0bdf3d3 and select the link that is listed under the FOA Documents section.

The minimum award size is $7.5M over five years or $1.5M per year.  Please refer to Section II.C, “Maximum and Minimum Award Size” of the FOA for further information.

Yes, you will receive an automatically generated email confirmation from Exchange once your Letter of Intent is successfully submitted.

Letters of Intent should include the name of the applicant, the title of the project, the name of the Project Director/Principal Investigator(s), the amount of funds requested, and a one-page abstract (see Section IV.B of the FOA).  To download the FOA, please visit https://eere-exchange.energy.gov/#bf5631a6-44d3-4d22-9034-9d0dc0bdf3d3 and select the link that is listed under the “FOA Documents” section.

The number of Letters of Support provided for projects are at the discretion of the utility.  Please check with the utility for specific information on the process of receiving a Letter of Support.      

Indirect costs are limited to the federally approved indirect rate established by the applicant’s cognizant agency.  If a proposal is selected for negotiation and the recipient does not have a cognizant agency, DOE will work with the recipient to establish reasonable indirect costs for the award.  For more information on indirect costs, please visit www.dcaa.mil, click on “Information for Contractors”, and review Chapter 6.

(A) No, foreign entities may not apply as prime or sub-recipients on the Plug and Play Photovoltaics FOA.  An amendment to the FOA has been posted to Exchange (www.eere-exchange.energy.gov) to clarify eligibility restrictions on foreign entities.  Please review Section III.A, Eligibility Requirements of Amendment 001 for details.

(B) A professor’s hours are limited to 2080 per year (40 hours per week).  All personnel costs must be necessary to perform the proposed work and meet all the criteria for allowability under the applicable Federal cost principles.  Charges for work performed on sponsored agreements by faculty members during the academic year will be based on the individual faculty member's regular compensation for the continuous period which, under the policy of the institution concerned, constitutes the basis of his salary.  Charges for work performed by faculty members on sponsored agreements during the summer months or other period not included in the base salary period will be determined for each faculty member at a rate not in excess of the base salary divided by the period to which the base salary relates.  Please see 2 CFR 220 for details.

(C) An individual’s hours are limited to 2080 per year (40 hours per week).  Personnel time is eligible for cost sharing, but all costs must be necessary to perform the proposed work and meet all the criteria for allowability under the applicable Federal cost principles.  For more information on consultant costs, please refer to the applicable cost principles, listed in Section IV.G of the FOA.

The deadline for the submission of a Letter of Intent has passed.   However, failure to submit a Letter of Intent will not affect the submission and review of an Application.  Please go to https://eere-exchange.energy.gov/ and refer to Section IV of the FOA for specific application and submission information.

The focus of the Plug & Play Photovoltaics FOA is residential technology, and application materials should reflect this focus.

Yes, the SF-424 form on the https://eere-exchange.energy.gov/ website is the most current version, and should be used with your application. 

Unfortunately, the Plug and Play Photovoltaics Funding Opportunity Announcement is a competitive announcement and private discussions with DOE regarding prospective applications, while the announcement is open, are prohibited.  If you would like to request funding for additional plug-and-play technology research, you may submit an application.  All applications will be evaluated by independent reviewers according to the merit review criteria listed in Section V.A of the FOA.

Yes, staff members may donate 20% of their time towards cost share.  Bill employee time when the employees are compensated by stock at the hourly rate they are usually paid.  For accounting purposes, consider the time they work and are compensated by stock as volunteer time under 10 CFR 600.313(b). 

Unfortunately, the Plug and Play Photovoltaics Funding Opportunity Announcement is a competitive announcement and private discussions with DOE regarding prospective applications, while the announcement is open, are prohibited.  The decision whether to submit an application in response to this FOA lies solely with the applicant.

If you anticipate third party participation in the project, but have not determined the specific participant, you may provide a cost estimate for those activities, labeled as “TBD provider of [insert activity]”, as a line item in the Contractual section of the budget.  Also include an explanation as to why the third party cannot be determined at the time of application (i.e., the State procurement requirements).  If your proposal is selected for negotiation, the third party budget can be negotiated at that time, however, foreign entities are not allowed as participants, and all participants in the project must conform to the eligibility requirements set out in Section III.A of the FOA.

Please note that each applicant is required to identify a utility partner and code official to take an active role in the development of the Plug and Play concept and fully participate throughout the project.  The utility partner and code officials must be determined prior to application, and may not be labeled as “TBD” on the budget.  Applicants must have a letter from each participating utility and authority having jurisdiction (AHJ)/code official indicating that the entity is supportive of the applicant’s proposal and will engage in activities as appropriate to help the applicant achieve the proposed objectives.

Alternate versions of the SF-424A and PMC 123.1 have been uploaded to Exchange.  These newly uploaded forms will accommodate five budget periods.  Please visit www.eere-exchange.energy.gov and click on “View Required Application Documents”.

No, foreign entities may not participate as prime or subrecipients on the Plug and Play Photovoltaics FOA, therefore direct foreign cost share is prohibited.  If a domestic applicant / subrecipient receives resources (cash or otherwise) from a foreign entity (such as a foreign parent company), the domestic applicant / subrecipient receiving the foreign resources may dedicate them to the project as cost share for the domestic applicant / subrecipient’s participation, but is responsible for securing the resources from the foreign entity outside the scope of the project.

An amendment to the FOA has been posted to Exchange (www.eere-exchange.energy.gov) to clarify eligibility restrictions for foreign entities.  In addition, the amendment adds the requirement for applicants to clarify the extent of the prime recipient and any subrecipient’s current operations within the U.S., as well as how the project approach would benefit the U.S. solar energy industry.  Please review Section III.A, Eligibility Requirements and Section IV.C.11 of Amendment 001 for details.

Applicants must complete the required application forms found on the EERE Exchange website at https://eere-exchange.energy.gov/ , as well as all other application requirements listed in Section IV.C of the FOA.   Applications must be received by June 18, 2012, not later than 5:00 PM Eastern Time.   Applicants are encouraged to transmit applications well before the deadline.   APPLICATIONS RECEIVED AFTER THE DEADLINE WILL NOT BE REVIEWED OR CONSIDERED FOR AWARD.

The full announcement is located at https://eere-exchange.energy.gov.  Please review this document thoroughly for application requirements. 

The application submission deadline for DE-FOA-0000653, Plug and Play Photovoltaics, is June 18, 2012 at 5:00 PM Eastern.  Applications must be submitted under this announcement through EERE Exchange (https://eere-exchange.energy.gov). Applications received after the deadline will not be reviewed or considered for award. 

Answer:

A.      Only FFRDC contractors require a PDF document.  Subrecipient / subawardee budget documents should be submitted in Excel, as stated in the FOA and on the EERE Exchange website. 

B.      Any subrecipient with total project costs over $100,000 must submit a separate SF-424A and PMC 123.1 forms.  Details of subrecipient costs should not all be included in the same excel file.  If you have 10 subrecipients with total project costs over $100,000, you will need to submit 11 SF-424A forms and 11 PMC 123.1 forms (one for the prime, and one for each subrecipient).  The prime SF-424A and PMC 123.1 should capture the total subrecipient costs in the Contractual section of the budget.  In the SF-424A, the Contractual line item will be total subrecipient costs, while in the PMC 123.1 there should be 10 line items in the Contractual tab (one line per subrecipient).  For example:

SF-424A:

PMC 123.1:

C.      You will be assigned a control number once you click “Apply to this FOA” in Exchange.  No concept paper is required.

Indirect costs are allowable as cost share as long as the recipient has a Federally approved Indirect Rate Agreement.  If a proposal is selected for negotiation and the recipient does not have a cognizant agency , DOE will work with the recipient to establish reasonable indirect costs for the award.  For more information on indirect costs, please visit www.dcaa.mil, click on “Information for Contractors”, and review Chapter 6.

The SOPO is not included in the page limit for the Project Narrative File.   Both the Project Narrative and the Statement of Project Objectives (SOPO) will be reviewed as a part of the application packet.  DOE requests that applicants adhere to the page limits assigned in the Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA).

Yes, a company can be a secondary participant on multiple proposals, provided that its participation is relevant to each project’s objectives, and it meets the eligibility requirements set forth in Section III.A of the FOA.

All cost share provided to the project by a third party (i.e., a party other than the organization submitting the application) must be supported by a letter of commitment that includes the dollar value of the contribution.  If the utility participating in your project is providing cost share, the letter of commitment can be combined with the letter of support.

Utility partner in-kind cost share must be clearly defined in relation to the performance of the proposed work and meet all the criteria for allowability under the applicable Federal cost principles.  The fair rental charges for land donated by a third party may be counted as cost share, subject to the prior approval of the Contracting Officer during negotiations, and also subject to the conditions listed in 10 CFR 600.123, 10 CFR 600.224, and 10 CFR 600.313. 

No, Plug & Play recipients have not yet been announced.  You will receive an email from the Exchange website when the decision on your application has been posted.

DOE anticipates making selections in December 2012.