Question 1:
Co-funding requirements appear to be 75%. Can this requirement be relaxed for not-for-profit institutions as we do not qualify for investment tax credit?
Answer 1:
No. As specified in Section III.B.1 the awardee must cost share at least 75% of the total allowable costs of the project, which equals the sum of the Government share, including FFRDC Contractor costs if applicable, and the Recipient share of allowable costs. The awardee cost share must come from non-Federal sources unless otherwise allowed by law including, but not limited to the cost sharing requirements of 10 CFR 600.123 for Institutions of Higher Education, Hospitals, and other Nonprofit Organizations, 10 CFR 600.224 for State and Local Governments, and 10 CFR 600.313 for For-Profit Organizations. Applicants are to demonstrate commitments to and availability of the minimum 75% cost share in the Applications.
Question 2:
In the announcement on the EERE website (http://apps1.eere.energy.gov/news/progress_alerts.cfm/pa_id=818) from Dec. 17, there is a reference to a cost share that does not appear anywhere else, such as in the FOA.
Here is the sentence:
The Energy Department seeks applications from industry, universities, and national laboratories. A total of up to $20 million is available for two to four projects under this solicitation. During the two- to four-year performance period, selected projects must pass reviews to continue advancing from the design phase through the construction and evaluation phases. Awardees are also required to provide 75% of the total project cost. For more information, see the CSP Heat Integration for Baseload Renewable Energy Development Funding Opportunity Announcement (CSP HIBRED FOA).
Is this sentence correct, meaning effectively that the DOE is providing a 25% cost share and the awardee is responsible for the rest?
Answer 2:
Per Section III.B. 1 the Awardee must cost share at least 75% of the total allowable costs of the project, which equals the sum of the Government share, including FFRDC Contractor costs if applicable, and the Recipient share of allowable costs. The awardee cost share must come from non-Federal sources unless otherwise allowed by law including, but not limited to the cost sharing requirements of 10 CFR 600.123 for Institutions of Higher Education, Hospitals, and other Nonprofit Organizations, 10 CFR 600.224 for State and Local Governments, and 10 CFR 600.313 for For-Profit Organizations. Applicants are to demonstrate commitments to and availability of the minimum 75% cost share in the Applications.
Question 3:
Can Investor Owned Utilities qualify for funding under the FOA or could a technology company partner with a utility to build a solar steam augmentation project at the utility’s existing fossil fuel plant? This would not necessarily mean a PPA would be in place but the IOU would agree to accept the power output from the CSP project.
Answer 3:
Yes, Investor Owned Utilities can apply to this FOA.
Question 4:
What stage must a project be at to qualify for funding? If permitting is already complete but construction has not commenced could the project qualify?
Answer 4:
DOE cannot give guidance as to what "stage" a project must be at to qualify funding. With respect to the second question, it is acceptable for a permitted project to apply.
Question 5:
Would a feasibility study be acceptable under Phase I of the funding opportunity?
Answer 5:
A feasibility study will not qualify for funding under this award. Phase I is for engineering and design for construction plus commercial and financial activities such as permitting, financing or agreements.
Question 6:
Section 1, Objectives states that, "The CSP Heat Integration for Baseload Renewable Energy Development Funding Opportunity Announcement (CSP HIBRED FOA) intends to support advancement of the hybridization of CSP technologies with existing fossil fuel plants." However, this requirement for existing fossil fuel plants is not stated in any other section. Please clarify.
Answer 6:
An existing fossil fuel plant is not a requirement. Projects under this award may be any combination of new or existing CSP technology integrated with new or existing fossil fueled power generation equipment and systems, provided that funding under this award shall only be used toward new equipment or the modifications to existing equipment which are necessary to exclusively collect, transfer or store solar energy. Costs associated with activities and facilities for a turbine or other power generation machinery are not allowable.
Question 7:
Page 53, Appendix D, Table titled, "Financial and incentive assumptions for LCOE calculations" states that the EPC & Develop cost should be 11%. Is this intended to be an Indirect EPC cost, in addition to the direct EPC costs associated with design and installation of the CSP equipment? Or is this intended to be the total EPC contract percentage?
Answer 7:
The 11% EPC and Development cost are indirect costs that cannot be identified with a specific piece of equipment or installation service such as: Permitting, royalty payments, consulting, management or legal fees, geotechnical and environmental surveys, interconnection costs, spare parts inventories, commissioning costs, and the and project engineering development activities.
The direct capital cost represents installed cost to the owner for components or systems such as the solar field or thermal energy storage system.
Question 8:
I am interested in any additional information and a full announcement on this solicitation.
Answer 8:
Thank you for your interest in solar-related funding opportunities.
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. Please check the websites below periodically for new Funding Opportunity Announcements (FOAs).
The Department of Energy’s Golden Field Office posts funding opportunity announcements on EERE eXCHANGE at https://eere-exchange.energy.gov, on FedConnect at https://www.fedconnect.net, and on Grants.gov at http://www.grants.gov,. Not all FOAs are available in both the EERE eXCHANGE website and FedConnect, however all FOAs are posted at Grants.gov.
At the eXCHANGE website, simply scroll through the opportunities on the main page.
To view the Golden Field Office’s current opportunities at the FedConnect website, click on “Search Public Opportunities” on the right side of the screen. Under “Search Criteria”, select “Issuing Office”, enter “Golden Field Office”, and then click on “Search” to bring up the list of funding announcements. When you select a particular announcement, there will be a list of documentation on the right side of the screen. Click on any attachment to view it.
At Grants.gov, click on “Find Grant Opportunities”, then choose one of the search options to locate opportunities of interest to your organization.
Question 9:
1. Given the US holidays and the extent of the information requested in the Letter of Intent, can DOE please extend the due date for the Letter of Intent beyond Jan 14, 2013?
2. If a Letter of Intent does not contain all 7 items requested in Section IV.B, will the applicant still be eligible to submit a full application?
Answer 9:
The letter of intent due date will not be extended. The letter of intent must include the requested information specified in Section IV.B of the FOA.
Question 10:
I wanted to ask a question about this program before we express our intent to apply. Can someone please contact me?
Answer 10:
Unfortunately, DE-FOA-0000772, titled “CSP Heat Integration For Baseload Renewable Energy Development FOA”, is a competitive solicitation and private discussions while the announcement is open are prohibited. All questions regarding this FOA must be submitted through the email address provided in the FOA. All questions asked through this email will be answered through the EERE eXCHANGE system and will be available to all interested parties.
Question 11:
Please confirm if “DE-FOA-0000772: CSP Heat Integration for Baseload Renewable Energy Development FOA” seeks hybrid CSP projects working in conjunction with only existing fossil fuel-fired plants, as opposed to other forms of base load generation (i.e. geothermal). Could an applicant propose a hybrid CSP-geothermal project for DE-FOA-0000772?
Answer 11:
The FOA is only open to CSP-Fossil fuel hybrids. Therefore, a CSP-geothermal hybrid application would be considered non-responsive to the FOA objectives.
Question 12:
Would DOE consider extending the due date for the Letter of Intent to January 31, 2013? This would take into consideration time factors involving the holiday season and allow teams with emerging and innovative CSP technology to better identify and secure a utility partner for this opportunity. As currently structured, the FOA would give favorable advantage to projects that are already currently under way rather than new projects.
Answer 12:
The Letter of Intent due date will not be extended.
Question 13:
For the Letter of Intent phase, would DOE consider allowing teams to suggest multiple (2-3) possible fossil plant sites/utility partners while postponing the final plant selection until the application so long as the applicant provides sufficient detail for DOE to judge the validity of the proposed options?
Answer 13:
The LOI will only be used to discourage/encourage applications from entities eligible for an award under the FOA. As long as the entity is eligible for award and the technology falls under the scope of this FOA (CSP-fossil hybrids), the entity will be encouraged to submit a full application. Any entity that submits an LOI may submit a full application.
Question 14:
Section 6 Performance of Work in the United States states “EERE requires all work under EERE funding agreements to be performed in the United States – i.e., prime recipients must expend 100% of the total project cost in the United States.” Total Project Cost is subsequently defined as "all the funds to complete the effort proposed by the Applicant, including DOE funds (including direct funding of any FFRDC) plus all other funds that will be committed by the Applicant as Cost Sharing.” Due to the newness and unique aspects of some CSP technologies, some system parts are not currently produced in the United States. Please advise does the requirement expenditure of 100% of total project cost also apply to purchase of parts not presently made in the U.S. For example, even when parts are purchased from U.S. vendors or stores locally, many parts are still made outside the U.S.A. and imported. Please advise of how Applicants should address the purchase of system parts that are not presently manufactured in U.S. Can these be excluded from the 100% U.S. requirement?
Answer 14:
Section III.C.1. “Performance of Work in the United States” states, “EERE requires all work under EERE funding agreements to be performed in the United States – i.e., prime recipients must expend 100% of the total project cost in the United States.” Total Project Cost is subsequently defined as "all the funds to complete the effort proposed by the Applicant, including DOE funds (including direct funding of any FFRDC) plus all other funds that will be committed by the Applicant as Cost Sharing.”
The requirement that 100% of total project cost be expended in the US is met by purchasing supplies or equipment from U.S. vendors even if the equipment or supplies are imported or contain imported components. If supplies or equipment are not available domestically, Applicants may apply for a waiver as described in Section III.C.1 and further described in Section IV.C.15 of the FOA. Applicants must submit waivers with their application if performance of the award would be dependent upon expending funds outside of the United States. The contracting officer may also grant waivers after awards have been made.
Question 15:
Does the 100% requirement for Performance of Work in the U.S. apply to equipment or parts that are donated for use on the project and so are part of the recipient cost share, yet not being purchased using EERE funds? If such parts are new parts that are in the possession of a U.S. company and the U.S. company donates the parts as part of a cost share, than how is that addressed? Please clarify.
Answer 15:
Section III of the FOA requires that all work under EERE funding agreements to be performed in the United States – i.e., prime recipients must expend 100% of the total project cost in the United States. Recipient cost share is part of total project costs and therefore subject to the same requirements mentioned above.
Question 16:
Please confirm the cost-share arrangements/percentages for this FOA. What percentage of total project costs will be funded by DOE under the FOA and what percentage of total project costs will be the applicant’s cost share?
Answer 16:
Per Section III.B of the FOA, the Awardee must cost share at least 75% of the total allowable costs of the project, which equals the sum of the Government share, including FFRDC Contractor costs if applicable, and the Recipient share of allowable costs. The awardee cost share must come from non-Federal sources unless otherwise allowed by law including, but not limited to the cost sharing requirements of 10 CFR 600.123 for Institutions of Higher Education, Hospitals, and other Nonprofit Organizations, 10 CFR 600.224 for State and Local Governments, and 10 CFR 600.313 for For-Profit Organizations. Applicants are to demonstrate commitments to and availability of the minimum 75% cost share in the Applications.
Question 17:
We have a group of entities that will be submitting the Letter of Intent and subsequent Application for the DOE CSP HIBRED FOA. These entities are directly involved with CSP technology, research, implementation and operations. We would like some direction as to which entity we should use as the applicant.
Answer 17:
It is the responsibility of the potential team to determine the prime applicant in the application.
Question 18:
I had difficulty accessing the downloadable application on Grants.gov (DE-FOA-0000772).
Answer 18:
Please register and create an account on EERE Exchange at https://eere-exchange.energy.gov/.
This account will then allow the user to register for any open EERE FOAs that are currently in EERE Exchange. It is recommended that each organization or business unit, whether acting as a team or a single entity, use only one account as the contact point for each submission.
Question 19:
I would like to apply for the CSP hybrid Grant program for base load, however, I will be using other renewables and new storage technology with CSP as well as hydrogen fuel cells. It appears I could qualify for more than one of these programs, is that possible to do? I will be building a managed microgrid always able to provide a consistent level of power capacity at utility scale. Surely there are multiple grants for which I will qualify, this one seemed to be very close.
Answer 19:
Section I of the funding opportunity states that "CSP-natural gas and CSP-coal hybrid technologies will be the only technologies considered for award under this announcement.
Question 20:
I have a small business, NanoLitre,Inc & have a design concept for a home based 12KW solar power unit based on Micro-CSP to produce 208VAC, 3Phase, 50Hz using steam engine that can supply 12KW power to grid.
Answer 20:
Section I of the funding opportunity states that "CSP-natural gas and CSP-coal hybrid technologies will be the only technologies considered for award under this announcement.
Question 21:
This question relates to Cost Sharing.."75% of the total allowable cost of the project..."
So if an engineer is working on the design and he normally gets paid a $120/hour can we agree to pay him $30/hour and get reimbursed for the $30/ hour on the "75% of total allowable cost?"
or do we actually, have to pay the $120 per hour, show proof of that expense and then get reimbursed at $30/ hour?
Answer 21:
Cost share applies to total project costs. If the employee has a normal hourly rate of $120 per hour the budget should reflect this rate and cost share should be calculated on these totals.
Question 22:
The grant.gov is not letting me get an application, so would you please send me an application.
Answer 22:
Please register and create an account on EERE Exchange at https://eere-exchange.energy.gov/.
This account will then allow the user to register for any open EERE FOAs that are currently in EERE Exchange. It is recommended that each organization or business unit, whether acting as a team or a single entity, use only one account as the contact point for each submission.
Question 23:
Letter of Intent Submission Update
Answer 23:
To all potential Applicants:
This is a reminder that the letters of intent shall comply with Section IV.B, Application and Submission Information of the FOA. It is the responsibility of the Applicant that all requested information is included in the letter of intent and that submission was successful via eXCHANGE.
Sincerely,
GO CSP Hibred FOA
Question 24:
Dear DOE,
We need more time to submit the LOI. Or, can we just send a one-page notice Monday?
Answer 24:
Unfortunately, DOE cannot grant an extension to the letter of intent (LOI) deadline for one applicant. At this time, DOE does not anticipate extending the letter of intent deadline. Letters of intent must be received by 01/14/2013, no later than 5:00pm PM Eastern Time.
Question 25:
Is the above referenced grant going to be funded? If so, when will the full announcement and application be available?
Answer 25:
Please refer to EERE Exchange at https://eere-exchange.energy.gov for the full FOA announcement.
Question 26:
Will the Letters of Intent be made public before the close of the FOA process?
Answer 26:
Letters of Intent submitted as part of the application process to this FOA will not be made public unless DOE is compelled by law to release them.
Question 27:
Good afternoon,
[Information removed] has submitted an LOI for the CSP Hibred FOA and would like to to set up a meeting with you and our Director of Commercial Development [Information removed]. We have some questions pertaining to what counts as cost share. [Information removed] has already invested a significant amount of infrastructure at the [Information removed] and would like to clarify as to what would count towards cost share for this project. If you have anytime this week that would be great. Thank you.
Answer 27:
Unfortunately, DE-FOA-0000772, titled “CSP Heat Integration For Baseload Renewable Energy Development FOA”, is a competitive solicitation. Private discussions in person or over the phone with Federal or Contractor employees while the announcement is open are prohibited. All questions regarding this FOA must be submitted through the email address provided in the FOA. All questions asked through this email will be answered through the EERE eXCHANGE system and will be available to all interested parties.
Question 28:
From page 32 of the funding opportunity announcement:
· Demonstration that the proposed CSP–fossil integrated (hybrid) facility will produce a minimum peak design of 1 MWe electricity attributable to solar energy without subsidy at an LCOE of 10¢/kWh (in real 2013$) or lower by 2016 as defined in Section 1.
If the System Advisor Model (SAM) calculates a 2013 LCOE of greater than 10 cents per kWh for a particular application, can an award still be made to that applicant? Would the application then have to explain how LCOE could be reduced below 10 cents per kWh by 2016?
Answer 28:
Thank you for your interest in the requirements of the Department of Energy. The Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA) posted at the EERE eXCHANGE website is comprehensive and designed to allow prospective applicants to assess their proposed projects versus the requirements and criteria of the FOA. We cannot predetermine the suitability or viability of a proposal 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 to submit an application.
We appreciate your continued pursuit of renewable energy research and development and look forward to assisting you in future inquiries.
Question 29:
Following RFP came to my attention only today. We missed the deadline of sending letter of Intent. Can we send the full application?
Answer 29:
Per Section IV.B of the FOA, Applicants must submit a Letter of Intent by the due date to be eligible to submit a Full Application.
Question 30:
We have determined that the 55 days between the notification that our Letter of Intent had been accepted and the deadline for the Full Application is insufficient for us to submit a credible proposal, especially given that our proposed project is based on the development of a greenfield project rather than a retrofit, the pioneering nature of our configurations, and the detailed information that we are required to provide under the FOA.
Would you kindly consider extending the deadline for submission of the Full Application by 60 days?
Answer 30:
At this time, the deadline for submission of the Full Application will not be extended and remains 5:00 PM ET March 19, 2013. It should be noted that having a fully permitted and regulatory approved project is not expected at the time of Full Application to the FOA.
Question 31:
Is there a blueprint for this project?
Answer 31:
Please refer to https://eere-exchange.energy.gov/ for the full announcement.
Question 32:
Paragraph 13 of the Full Application instructions state that we must complete the "environmental questionnaire that is included as part of the package of documents to be downloaded with the application." We did not find such questionnaire, however, in the "Required Application Documents" section of this FOA announcement on the EERE web site. Where do we find this document? Elsewhere we found a DOE Environmental Questionnaire (Form NETL F 451.1-1/3); should we use this form?
Answer 32:
The environmental questionnaire can be found at https://www.eere-pmc.energy.gov/Forms.aspx
Question 33:
Hello, send me the application for the
Funding Opportunity Number: DE-FOA-0000772
Answer 33:
The Funding Opportunity Announcement DE-FOA-0000772 can be found at: https://eere-exchange.energy.gov/Default.aspx