Question 1:
Could you please advise where I can get more information about the
timing/login requirements for the webinar on October 10th for the CSP:
APOLLO FOA ?
Answer 1:
The webinar will be held from 3-4pm Eastern on Friday,
October 10th. You may register for the
webinar at the following link: https://www1.gotomeeting.com/register/508346624
Question 2:
I would love to attend this webinar (and really have to for work purposes), but unfortunately it falls on the Jewish Holiday of Sukkot, during which I will not be able to use or operate any form of electronic device.
Would it be possible to view a recording of the webinar after it takes place?
Answer 2:
The slide deck, script and Q&A file from the webinar will be
posted to EERE Exchange on Thursday, October 16th.
Question 3:
• Can the cost share for the APOLLO FOA come from foreign institutions (e.g., in India)?
• Given that there may be multiple concurrent FOAs coming out in the next few months on the same CSP topics, can we submit the same proposal to multiple FOAs? Will we incur additional risk or reduce our chances of funding if we do so?
Answer 3:
Yes, cost share can come from
foreign institutions, however, as stated in Section IV.D.11.ii of the FOA, all
work under EERE funding agreements must be performed in the United
States. If the foreign cost share requires performance of work outside of
the U.S., see Section III.A.3 of the FOA for waiver information.
Yes, you can submit the same
proposal to multiple FOAs, however, EERE will not fund duplicate work.
Your proposal can only be selected under one FOA. You will not incur
additional risk or reduce your chances of funding by submitting multiple
proposals.
Question 5:
With regards to FOA 1186, there is a downloadable link called: “Base-case SAM input file: Required for applicants that propose to meet the 6 cents/kWhe via performance targets other than those identified in the FOA.”
However, it appears to be a .zsam filename. What is this file, what application opens it, and if we do intend to achieve our target cost with different performance parameters, how does this help you?
Answer 5:
The
.zsam file can be opened by the System Advisor Model (SAM) available to
download for free at https://sam.nrel.gov. The SAM program
performs the calculation of LCOE based on a number of economic and technical
characteristics which serve as inputs for the analysis. The ‘SunShot_2020.zsam’
file contains technical and economic inputs identified by the SunShot
Initiative as a particular case that achieves the SunShot goal of an LCOE of 6
cents/kWh. As detailed in the FOA, if an applicant proposes technical or cost targets
other than those identified, the full application must specifically detail the
SAM performance inputs which are altered from the provided base-case file in
order to justify that the target LCOE can still be met.
Question 6:
Was there a technical problem with the webinar? We dialed in and received nothing.
Answer 6:
If you missed Webinar #1, please download the slides and
transcript from www.EERE-Exchange.energy.gov.
Question 7:
I am wondering if the CSP APOLLO FOA is open to application from Non-US companies? We are interested in the US progressive position on Solar R&D funding - due to the unfortunate fact that our current federal government are lead by anti renewable energy climate skeptics.
Answer 7:
As stated in Section III.A.3 of the FOA:
“Foreign entities, whether for-profit or otherwise, are
eligible to apply for funding under this FOA.
Other than as provided in the “Individuals” or “Domestic
Entities” sections above, all Prime Recipients receiving funding under this FOA
must be incorporated (or otherwise formed) under the laws of a State or
territory of the United States. If a foreign entity applies for funding as a
Prime Recipient, it must designate in the Full Application a subsidiary or
affiliate incorporated (or otherwise formed) under the laws of a State or
territory of the United States to be the Prime Recipient. The Full Application
must state the nature of the corporate relationship between the foreign entity
and domestic subsidiary or affiliate.
If a Foreign entity wishes to forego this requirement and
serve as the Prime Recipient itself, it may submit a waiver request to EERE as
part of its Full Application requesting permission to do so. The waiver request
must include the following information:
·
Entity name;
·
Country of incorporation;
·
Description of the work to be performed by the
entity for whom the waiver is being requested; and
·
Countries where the work will be performed.
In the waiver request, the Applicant must demonstrate to the
satisfaction of EERE that it would further the purposes of this FOA and is
otherwise in the interests of EERE to have a foreign entity serve as the Prime
Recipient. The Contracting Officer may require additional information before
considering the waiver request.”
Question 8:
1. Can a prime recipient receive less than 50% of total project funds?
2. Is TRL 5 lab demonstration of system concept principles considered R&D or commercial demonstration?
Answer 8:
Yes. As stated in Section
III.B.2 of the FOA, “Each Project Team is free to determine how best to
allocate the cost share requirement among the team members. The amount
contributed by individual Project Team members may vary, as long as the cost
share requirement for the project as a whole is met.”
For this FOA, TRL 5, “Component
and/or breadboard validation in relevant environment” is considered
R&D. TRL 6, “System/subsystem model or prototype demonstration in a
relevant environment” and above is considered demonstration.
Question 9:
Could we apply for compressed air energy system (CAES) funding through the subject opportunity?
Answer 9:
Energy storage for CSP is of interest under Topic 3 of
the CSP APOLLO FOA. A compliant proposal for a CAES system integrated
with a CSP plant would be eligible for consideration in the CSP APOLLO FOA, provided it addresses the target subcomponent and system integration requirements set forth in the FOA. A standalone CAES system would not be eligible for funding from the CSP APOLLO FOA, however.
Question 10:
I have a question regarding the concentration ratio. In Eq. (1), the thermal efficiency is highly dependent on the concentration ratio. It seems to me the targeted concentration ratio is not defined or mentioned in the FOA. Could you provide a range of the targeted values so we can use it to estimate the thermal efficiency.
Answer 10:
There is no target concentration ratio for the CSP APOLLO FOA as
concentration ratio varies across different CSP technologies. For
applicants looking to develop receiver technologies, It is incumbent upon the
applicant to determine an appropriate concentration ratio, or range of
concentration ratios, for the particular type of CSP technology the applicant
envisions their technology integrating with.
Question 11:
As an FFRDC, we are not allowed to pay cost share. On page 27 the legal requirement states that “the prime recipient is legally responsible for paying entire cost share.” If awarded, will the cost share responsibilities be negotiated during contract negotiations between DOE and the FFRDC, such that the FFRDC will not be required to pay cost share of the committed sub recipient?
Answer 11:
If
an FFRDC applies as the prime applicant, 20% cost share on total project costs
is required. This cost share may come from subrecipients/partners on the
project, or from FFRDC contributions paid directly from the contractor’s
Management Fee or another non-Federal source (see Section III.B.4 of the FOA). As stated in Section II.B.2 of the FOA, when an FFRDC is
the prime applicant, “The FFRDC or GOGO then executes an agreement with any
non-FFRDC/GOGO Project Team members to arrange work structure, project
execution, and any other matters.” This includes cost share
arrangements. Attach any letters of commitment from Third Parties
contributing to cost share as an appendix to the Technical Volume.
Letters of support do not count towards the page limit.
Question 13:
We are an FFRDC, looking to propose a project with a foreign university. That university would provide, through work with a private entity in their country, the cost share for the FOA. The entirety of the DOE funds would be spent in the US as required. It is unclear, when the FOA indicates “All work under EERE funding agreements must be performed in the United States” whether this requires that efforts providing cost share also need to be performed in the US, or if these can be performed in the other country. If the cost share work also must be in the US, please outline the acceptance criterion for a waiver. Are waivers generally granted, or should the waiver request contain specific elements to attain acceptance?
Answer 13:
Cost share work must also be performed in the US, unless the
applicant applies for a waiver and the Contracting Officer approves that
waiver. Section IV.I.3.c of the FOA lists the necessary information that
must be included in a request to waive the Performance of Work in the United
States requirement.
Question 15:
I have a question about Table 3 of the APOLLO FOA. The table states that the inlet temperature of the TES is 720 C and the outlet temperature is 600 C. However, the inlet temperature of the power cycle is 700 C. Presumably one wants to always provide the power cycle with fluid at a temperature of 700 C but the table suggests that one could discharge the TES until it the temperature of the working fluid is 600 C.
Can you please clarify if this is the case? What exactly is meant by the inlet and outlet temperatures of the CSP Heat Input Requirement in Table 3?
Answer 15:
Table 3 of the FOA indicates the
inlet and outlet temperatures of the TES subsystem that are required to provide
sufficient heat for each indicated power cycle. For example, to interface with
a supercritical CO2 cycle, the TES must provide heat, continuously, at 720 C to
heat the power cycle working fluid to 700 C, which will, in turn, cool the TES
fluid/material to 600 C. Alternative inlet/outlet temperatures for the TES
component may be proposed, as long as they can be shown to interface with an
appropriate power cycle that can meet the overall SunShot targets.
Question 16:
If your organization is planning on submitting a concept paper / full application that includes involvement of each CSP sub component, which topic should you apply under?
Answer 16:
Please submit your application to the topic area corresponding
to what you would consider to be the most innovative component of the proposed
project. However any proposed work on other components should keep in mind the
specified metrics in the corresponding Topic Area description, as well as the
overall SunShot targets.
Question 18:
In the FOA: DE-FOA-0001186 on page 33 it says a "Control Number" must be displayed in the upper right corner. Do I need to obtain a control number? If so, how do I do so?
Answer 18:
You can obtain a control number at www.eere-exchange.energy.gov by
clicking the "Apply" button on the FOA record.
Question 19:
Our team plans to have a foreign partner (a current collaborator in research) and use the solar furnace facility at the foreign location. They will need some budget (~$100K/yr) and they will provide cost share (~$50K/yr). The solar furnaces at U.S.-based FFRDCs are too expensive and more importantly, they cannot provide cost share.
Is it possible to get a waiver for this collaboration? Do we need to formally submit a waiver request and get it approved for the concept paper?
Answer 19:
Yes, you must request a waiver
for this collaboration as part of your Full Application (see Section III.A.3 of
the FOA for waiver information). A waiver request is not required at the
Concept Paper stage.
Question 21:
We’d like to propose some proprietary/sensitive technology in our concept paper for this funding opportunity. After reviewing the FOA, I’m not sure how to mark the concept paper so that it will be adequately protected. Can you describe, and also perhaps explain what protection is given to such information during and after the review process?
Answer 21:
Please follow the guidance
outlined in Section VIII.E of the FOA. In general, EERE will use data and
other information contained in applications for evaluation purposes only unless
such information is generally available to the public or is already the
property of the Government, however, in the event a Freedom of Information Act
(FOIA) request is received for information submitted with an application,
failure to comply with the marking requirements in Section VIII.E may result in the
disclosure of the unmarked information under a FOIA request or otherwise. The
U.S. Government is not liable for the disclosure or use of unmarked
information, and may use or disclose such information for any purpose.
Question 22:
We’re submitting a Concept Paper for this FOA with work to be shared by an FFRDC. There are instructions regarding Authorization for FFRDCs in regards to Full Application. Do we need to submit any authorization for a Concept Paper. If so, how?
Answer 22:
No, you do not need to submit FFRDC authorization with
the concept paper, however, FFRDC authorization is required with the full
application if an FFRDC will participate on the project.
Question 24:
For concept paper Is cover page included in page limits or not. What items should be included on the cover page.
Answer 24:
No, a cover page is not required
for the concept paper. Per Section IV.C.1 of the FOA, the Concept Paper
must conform to the following content requirements:
·
Technology
Description – 3 pages max
·
Addendum – 2 pages
max
Question 25:
The FOA goals for the collector field, page 13, call for an optical error better than 3.0 mrad RMS (calm weather). However, the SAM model provided has the optical error set to 1.5 mrad RMS to get an LCOE just over 6 cents. If this model is re-run with the 3.0 mrad RMS value, the LCOE climbs to nearly 8 cents. Which metric (3.0 mrad or 1.5 mrad) is correct, or are we mis-interpreting one of the two values?
Answer 25:
The “image error” input parameter
in SAM is assumed to be the same value in both the X and Y coordinates. The
total "mirror normal" error (e_mn) is calculated using the
equation: e_mn = sqrt( eaxis_x^2 + eaxis_y^2 ), where eaxis_x = eaxis_y ==
"Image Error". The "reflected beam error" (e_rb), or
the equivalent standard deviation of the reflected image, is given by: e_rb =
sqrt( (2 * eaxis_x)^2 + (2 * eaxis_y)^2 ). So, for the image error
default value of 1.5 mrad, the reflected beam error standard deviation (whole
angle) is 4.2 mrad. However, note that the reflected beam error in each
axis (X or Y) is 3.0 mrad. The optical error requirement in the FOA is
for the “reflected beam error” in one axis to be less than 3.0 mrad.
Question 26:
We will be issuing a Letter of Commitment to participate in the DE-FOA-0001186. I am looking for a physical address for our records.
Answer 26:
U.S Department of Energy
Golden Field Office
15013 Denver West Parkway
Golden, CO 80401
Question 27:
My organization has the following questions in regards to the above-referenced FOA:
1. In Part III, Sub-Part A, Section 3 of the FOA, it states that Foreign Entities, whether for-profit or otherwise, are eligible to apply for funding under this FOA. However, if a Foreign Entity is to be a Prime Recipient they must either be incorporated under the laws of a State of territory of the United States or they must submit a waiver of such requirement to the EERE. At the end of this section it states that a Foreign Entity may receive funding as a sub-recipient. However, it is unclear whether the US incorporation requirement applies to a Foreign Entity sub-recipient in the same manner as a prime recipient. Thus, can you provide clarification as to whether a Foreign Entity sub-recipient must be incorporated in the US, like a Foreign Entity prime recipient or not? If not, then does a waiver have to be filed with the EERE?
2. In Part IV, Sub-Part D, Section 11, Sub-Section ii, the FOA states that all work under this EERE funding agreement must be performed in the US, except for the purchase of supplies and equipment. If a Foreign Entity Sub-recipient is not required to be incorporated in the US (see above question) then will the entity be required to seek a waiver for contract performance outside of the US, which is neither for supplies nor equipment? Alternatively, can a non-US incorporated Foreign entity perform work under this agreement without a waiver?
Answer 27:
If a Foreign Entity sub-recipient is not incorporated in the
US and wishes to perform work outside the US, they must file a waiver with the
Full Application.
No, a non-US incorporated Foreign entity cannot perform work
outside the US without a waiver.
Question 28:
So that we can complete the Field Work Proposal, can you please publish the name and Headquarters Organization of the Headquarters Program Manager for this FOA?
Answer 28:
The Headquarters Program Manager
is Joe Stekli and the Headquarters Organization is the Solar Energy
Technologies Office.
Question 29:
We have submitted concept paper and are working on full application. We originally submitted the concept paper as a consortium with several organizations.
Some things have come up with one of the organizations so we wanted to know if it was ok to submit the full application with a different number of organizations in the consortia? i.e. one will no longer participate in the project
Is this allowed? or are we restricted to what we submitted in the concept paper?
Answer 29:
Yes, you may submit the full application with a different number
of organizations in the consortia. Only the Prime Applicant must remain
the same.
Question 30:
Some comments provided by reviewers on the concept papers are vague and require clarification in order to be addressed in the full proposal. What process is used to obtain clarification of reviewer comments?
Answer 30:
There is no process for
obtaining clarification of Concept Paper reviewer comments. Please
address the comments as best you can in the Full Application without further
consultation from EERE.
Question 31:
We are working with NREL, Sandia, and Los Alamos for our APOLLO proposal. We are planning to do collaborative and testing tasks at each one. Exactly what paperwork is required from the government labs for submitting with our proposal?
Answer 31:
Applicants who propose FFRDC work in their projects must submit
an FFRDC Authorization with the Full Application. See Section III.E.2,
Section IV.D.8 and Section IV.D.9 of the FOA for details of what to include.
Question 32:
The SAM input file SunShot_2020 is a “.zsam” file. The current version of SAM available for download (2014.11.24) cannot open the file; it supports only files with the “.sam” extension. Please provide a version that can be opened with the current SAM version.
Answer 32:
To ensure consistency, please
open the provided .zsam SAM input file with the previous version of SAM
(Version 2014.1.14), which remains available for download at https://sam.nrel.gov.
Question 33:
As we are preparing to submit full application through the DOE eXCHANGE system by the submission deadline, we are facing major disruptions caused by unprecedented snow storms in Boston, forcing campus closings. Some key persons, connected to the project submission, may not be available this week for the submission process. Would it be possible to extend the Full Application submission deadline?
Answer 33:
The deadline for full applications to be submitted via EERE Exchange remains February 20th, 2015, 5:00 PM EST.
Question 39:
Could you please tell me to whom the CO authorization letter should be
addressed for the subject FOA? I'm helping an FFRDC compose the CO letters.
Answer 39:
Please address your authorization letter to:
U.S. Department of Energy
Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy, Solar Energy Technology Program
Golden Field Office
15013 Denver West Parkway
Golden, Colorado 80401