Frequently Asked Questions

DC-DC converters applied at the module level are within the scope of the award (see Sections I.B.1 “Areas of Programmatic Interest” and I.B.2 “Areas NOT of Programmatic Interest”). Please note also that the FOA objectives are to perform test development and implementation for both microinverters and microconverters.

As stated in Amendment 001 of the FOA, Applicants may submit more than one application to this FOA, provided that each application describes a unique project and each application has a different Principle Investigator (PI).  No individual may participate as a PI or co-PI on more than one application.  An individual may be included in an application as a participant even if they are listed as a PI on another application.  If an applicant submits more than one Concept Paper or Full Application with the same PI or co-PI, DOE will only consider the last timely submission for evaluation.  Any other submissions received listing the same PI or co-PI will be considered noncompliant and not eligible for further consideration.

The webinar will be held today, Wednesday, March 6, 2013 at 3:00 PMEST.  Please reserve your Webinar seat at:

https://www1.gotomeeting.com/register/907182321 .

The webinar slides and script may be found on the exchange website at https://eere-exchange.energy.gov/#FoaIdce62cf47-5f1a-4e79-9886-2b83eda9506d by clicking “PREDICTS Webinar Slides and Script” under FOA Documents.

The scope of Topic 1 of this FOA is to determine, define, and map the series or sequences of discrete, indivisible steps that occur in the failure of a system or component of a solar field.  These findings should be used to develop a map of all the contributing factors that need to be taken into account when generating a predictive, physics-based lifetime and reliability model. Advanced measurement techniques are included in the scope of this FOA.  Please see the FOA for more information on the objectives of this funding announcement and how applications will be evaluated.

Specific materials systems are not identified as a focus for this FOA.  The Technical Areas of Programmatic Interest in Section I.B.1 is not exhaustive and is only used demonstrate the breadth of possibilities.  Please see Section V.B.3 for the Merit Review Criteria for Applications.

DOE expects to release comments on the concept paper by 4/9/13.  This date is tentative and may be changed without notice. 

The PV section of Topic 1 of this FOA is soliciting applications to examine the individual components of modules (from individual materials to material systems such as p-n junctions, contacts, and packaging/enclosures). Areas of programmatic interest are outlined in Section I.B.1. These areas include, but are not limited to, cell materials and interfaces, packaging (barrier films, encapsulants, etc.), optics (for CPV), elemental diffusion and material impurities. The Technical Areas of Programmatic Interest in Section I.B.1 is not exhaustive and is only used demonstrate the breadth of possibilities. 

Please reference Section IV.D of the PREDICTS FOA regarding requirements for submitting Concept Papers.  Any Concept Paper that is NOT submitted via the EERE eXCHANGE system will be deemed non-compliant, will not be allowed to move forward in the application process.

Industrial partners are not required for this FOA. However, the industrial relevance of the proposed product to be studied is among the scoring criteria for both Concept Papers (Section V.B.3) and Full Applications (Section V.B.4).

References for the technology description should be included within the three (3) page limit for the concept paper.

This proposal is for the examination of components for any photovoltaic technology.

Team members may be changed from submission of the concept paper to full application although DOE encourages you to finalize your teams as soon as possible.  Team members should be finalized prior to final application submission.  Please note that during Merit Review, the qualifications of team members will be considered.  Unpaid collaborators contributing their time as an “in-kind” contribution to the project should be listed in the concept paper and full application.

As noted in section of the FOA VI.E.2.vi, Applicants are required to submit a one-page summary/abstract of their project.  As noted in the table of required documents for a Full Application the document is limited to 1 page maximum.

An applicant, must have a single lead entity, but that applicant may have CO-PI’s.

A brief summarizing abstract should be included in the EERE Exchange system along with the concept paper to be evaluated.  However, only the submitted concept paper  will be reviewed according to the criteria in the FOA.

All awardee’s are subject to the award specific terms and conditions, which contains a flow down provision.  Since any award recipient is obligated follow the regulations in 10 CFR 600, any sub-recipient to the awardee would also be obligated to follow 10 CFR 600.

Per Section IV.E.2 of the FOA, the SF-424A is not required for subrecipients.  The PMC 123.1 must be submitted for subrecipients with costs of $100,000 or greater.

The requirement for a Project Management Plan (PMP) is described in section IV.E.2.iii of the FOA.  Full applications must upload and submit the PMP in EERE Exchange.

If a project with multiple Principal Investigators (PIs) receives funding, the organization of the PI who submits the proposal will be the prime recipient and all other involved parties will be subrecipients to the prime organization.

Yes, all subcontractor costs, including cost share provided, should be captured on the contractual tab of the PMC 123.1.  If a subcontractor is providing labor and materials as cost share for the project, these costs should appear twice – once on the contractual tab and once on the cost share tab.  If a subcontractor has total costs of $100K or greater (including cost share), that subcontractor must provide a separate PMC 123.1.

1. The Completed and Signed Other Sources of Funding Disclosure is not a required application document for the PREDICTS FOA.  EERE Exchange has been modified to reflect this.
2. The Upload and Submit section of EERE Exchange has been modified to reflect the 2-page limit referenced in the FOA.
3. The Waiver Request section of EERE Exchange has been modified to “if applicable”, rather than “required”.

To propose in-kind cost share from a foreign entity, applicants must submit an explicit waiver request in the Full Application, which includes the following information: the countries in which the work will be performed, a description of the work to be performed outside the U.S., and the rationale for performing the work overseas. In the waiver request, the Applicant  must demonstrate to the satisfaction of the EERE that a waiver would further the purposes of this FOA and is otherwise in the interests of EERE. For example, an Applicant may seek to demonstrate the United States economic interest will be better served through a greater percentage of work performed outside the United States (e.g., provide evidence that expertise to develop a technology exists only outside the United States, but that ultimate commercialization of the technology will result in substantial benefits to the United States such as improved electricity reliability, increased employment, increased exports of U.S.-manufactured products, etc.).  The Contracting Officer may require additional information before considering the waiver request. Save the Waiver Request(s) in a single PDF file titled “{{ControlNumber}}_{{LeadOrganization}}__Waiver.”  Please see Section II.G and Section IV.E.2.xiv of the FOA.

Please use the total project funding (DOE portion + cost share) to determine each participant’s significance in the project.

Applicants are provided a 0.5 page cover sheet to the Full Application to identify the Topic Area to which they are applying.  Other relevant information such as the Project Title, Lead Organization Name, PI, Team Members, Key Participants and Exchange Control Number should also be included in this section. 

Topic 2 applications require a “Standards Implementation Plan” that is discussed in Section IV.E.2.ix of the FOA.  Section IV.E.2.ix of the FOA is titled “Dissemination Plan”.

Subrecipients who wish to submit sensitive company or organization information directly to DOE should email PREDICTS@go.doe.gov and indicate the application control number in the subject line.

Upload each subrecipient PMC 123.1 as “{{ControlNumber}}_{{LeadOrganization}}_Budget_Justification_SubName”.

A template for the "Budget Summary (2 pages max)" is not available.  For format, please follow the instructions in the FOA. Costs per task should include both DOE Share and Cost Share.

Guidance from the FOA is copied below:
Applicants are required to provide a two-page budget summary, broken down by work tasks.  The summaries must conform to the following guidelines:

• The budget summary should be clearly associated with the work tasks outlined as part of the Statement of Project Objectives (Section IV.E.2.iii) and reflect quarterly progress on the proposed project. 
• All major equipment purchases must be included in the budget summary.  For equipment acquired as part of the proposed project, state the proposed disposition of the equipment after the project’s completion.  Specifically, state if the useful life of the equipment will correlate with its authorized purpose under the proposed project.
• If costs are less than would normally be expected due to large amounts of previous work done by one or more members of the research team, please describe and explain accordingly.
• Applicants are required to estimate the potential materials costs of the proposed project to justify the  potential to approach, meet, or exceed the goals of this FOA. 

Overhead may be included as part of cost share, however, overhead is generally charged on direct costs only.  Thus, the example above would be changed as follows:

Cost Share direct costs (personnel, fringe, travel, supplies, etc.) = $3,750
60% overhead on direct costs = $2,250

Total Cost Share = $6,000

In the event that an applicant is listed as a PI or co-PI on more than one application, DOE will review the last timely application received.   The PI or co-PI will be notified, and with CO approval, they may be provided the option to retract one of their applications if they would prefer for DOE to consider another timely application that was received.

You may choose to address either CSP or PV under Topic 1.  It is not necessary to address both.

Please direct any further questions to the FOA mailbox, PREDICTS@go.doe.gov.