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["INSTRUCTIONS"]
[1,"All questions pertaining to this Notice should be emailed to 2017SolarDecathlonCompetition@ee.doe.gov. "]
[2,"All questions pertaining to EERE Exchange should be emailed to EERE-ExchangeSupport@hq.doe.gov. Include FOA name and number in subject line."]
[3,"All questions and answers pertaining to this Notice will be posted on EERE Exchange within this spreadsheet."]
[4,"DOE will attempt to respond to a question within 3 business days, unless a similar question and answer has already been posted in this spreadsheet. "]
[5,"All questions should be submitted not later than 3 business days prior to the application due date. Questions submitted after this date will not be answered."]
[6,"Questions are assigned a number in accordance with when they are reviewed by DOE.  "]
[7,"Questions are assigned a topic area by DOE when reviewed."]
[]
["TIPS"]
[1,"Applicants may sort questions and answers in the question tabs of this spreadhseet by selecting the drop-down box arrow on the column headers and selecting any of the listed attributes."]
[2,"Applicants may search for questions and/or keywords by holding CTRL+F on the keyboard and typing in a phrase or keyword."]

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["ADMINISTRATIVE QUESTION AND ANSWER LOG"]
["DE-FOA-0001398 - 2017 Solar Decathlon College Team Competition"]
["Question #","Date Submitted","Topic","Question","Answer"]
[1,"2015-08-27","Webinar","The email address in the FOA is 2017solardecathlon@EE.DOE.GOV however the email address for these inquiries on the webinar confirmation email is 2017SolarDecathlonCompetition@ee.doe.gov .  Please advise which is the correct address to send questions and inquiries?","The 2017SolarDecathlon@ee.doe.gov mailbox is for DE-FOA-0001371 Solar Decathlon Program Administrator and the 2017SolarDecathlonCompetition@ee.doe.gov is for DE-FOA-0001398 Solar Decathlon College Team Competition.\n"]
[2,"2015-08-27","Registration Requirements","Is there a limit to the number of applications that the DOE will accept from a single institution?  ","An institution may submit more than one application. If your institution has more than one team interested in the Solar Decathlon College Team Competition, the institution must submit a separate application package for each team project."]
[4,"2015-09-01","Registration Requirements","Can the application deadline be extended into November/December?","The Full Application submission deadline must remain at 5PM ET on 10/29/2015."]
[5,"2015-09-02","Cost Sharing","What is the average budget of a successful competitive team?","The average budget amount among all 2013 (18 teams) was $800K.  The range was $300K to $1.2 Million which the teams raised from sponsors thru fundraising."]
[6,"2015-09-02","Registration Requirements","The FOA Application requires a Control Number.  What is this and how do I get one?","Per the FOA Section IV.A. “Application Process,” a control number will be issued when an Applicant begins the Exchange application process. This control number must be included with all Application documents. Please refer to the FOA for more details."]
[7,"2015-09-02","Eligibility","Can two universities work together and submit ONE application?","Teams must be comprised of College students but it does not matter if team members come from different Colleges. "]
[8,"2015-09-02","Application Content/Format","Since this seems to be the first time that University applicants and competition managers are being sought at the same time, there is a risk that no competition manager would be selected in time to host a 2017 event.","DOE intends to select a venue and Program Administrator in late January 2016, and to help ensure that outcome, an alternate will be selected in case the first selectee is unable to fill the role."]
[9,"2015-09-02","Webinar","Is there a recording of the 09/02/2015 webinar?","The recorded 2017 Solar Decathlon Competition webinar is at: https://attendee.gotowebinar.com/recording/2576491463878152961"]
[10,"2015-09-03","Registration Requirements","Because finalizing sponsorship can take a long period of effort, can Letters of Intent and Full Applications still be submitted even if the attainment of sponsorship is pending? ","While having fully executed sponsorship is beneficial during the DOE application evaluation process, the DOE understands that the attainment of sponsorship is a protracted effort, so Letters of Intent and Full Applications submitted without the fully executed sponsorship will be accepted (PLEASE NOTE THAT A LETTER OF INTENT SUBMITTAL IS NO LONGER REQUIRED)."]
[11,"2015-09-08","Application Content/Format","I logged onto the EERE website to see what the requirements looked like for the LOI form and filled in some text fully expecting to be able to save on the next page but then it submitted. Can you please delete this control number or kick it back? I apologize for the inconvenience.","An Applicant can go back into Exchange and use the same control number as many times as necessary to complete the Letter of Intent (LOI).  The last LOI submission will then become the final submission upon the 09/17/2015 submission deadline.  \n\nWhen an Applicant fills out the required fields in the EERE Exchange Letter of Intent section and clicks the \"Create Letter of Intent\" button, the Letter of Intent is Created (submitted), and the Applicant will receive an email stating that the Letter of Intent has been successfully submitted. A PDF upload is not required for the Letter of Intent; filling out the required fields and clicking the \"Create Letter of Intent\" button fulfills the LOI submission requirement. \n\nPlease be aware that after you complete the Letter of Intent process, under the \"Status\" Column in EERE Exchange your Application will still show as \"Not Submitted.\" If you have already created a Letter of Intent, this refers to the Full Application status, not the Letter of Intent status. The confirmation email (referenced above) sent to the Applicant serves as the record of your Letter of Intent submittal (PLEASE NOTE THAT A LETTER OF INTENT SUBMITTAL IS NO LONGER REQUIRED)."]
[12,"2015-09-11","Foreign Entities/Work","Is it is obligatory to be an U.S. university in order to take a part in the Solar Decathlon 2017?","The 2017 Solar Decathlon is open to all collegiate teams in the United States and around the world, but the focus is on design solutions for the United States."]
[13,"2015-09-15","Application Content/Format","How is the Letter of Intent submitted in EERE Exchange?","When an Applicant fills out the required fields in the EERE Exchange Letter of Intent section and clicks the \"Create Letter of Intent\" button, the Letter of Intent is Created (submitted), and the Applicant will receive an email stating that the Letter of Intent has been successfully submitted. A PDF upload is not required for the Letter of Intent; filling out the required fields and clicking the \"Create Letter of Intent\" button fulfills the LOI submission requirement (PLEASE NOTE THAT A LETTER OF INTENT SUBMITTAL IS NO LONGER REQUIRED). \n\nPlease be aware that after you complete the Letter of Intent process, under the \"Status\" Column in EERE Exchange your Application will still show as \"Not Submitted.\" If you have already created a Letter of Intent, this refers to the Full Application status, not the Letter of Intent status. The confirmation email (referenced above) sent to the Applicant serves as the record of your Letter of Intent submittal."]
[14,"2015-09-08",null,"I am emailing you to figure out the best way to stay up-to-date on the Solar Decathlon 2017 competition. Is there a newsletter, social media group, or other type of forum to which I can subscribe to stay connected with the competition?","The official website www.SolarDecathlon.gov has information on past Solar Decathlons and the current 2015 Solar Decathlon competition, and it will be updated with 2017 Solar Decathlon information later on. Under the \"News\" heading on the left side of the home page, you can subscribe to the monthly newsletter and find the News Blog and articles about Solar Decathlon."]
[15,"2015-09-08","Application Content/Format","The EERE Exchange web page organization does not match what is on page 6 of the 2017 Solar Decathlon FOA (page 9 electronic). Could you please help me to resolve the following discrepancies for submitting a Letter of Intent?\n\n1) Should we state in the 4000 character abstract box whether or not we previously submitted the Application?\n2) Should we include the Project Team, PI, Team members and Key Participants in the 4000 character abstract box?\n3) Should we limit our abstract to 200 words, then paste this into the 4000 character abstract box?\n4) Once we hit \"Create Letter of Intent\" is this in Word or PDF format?\n5) Do we have an opportunity to edit it once created, or is it \"done\" at that point?","1) Applicants may state in the Abstract box whether or not you previously submitted the Application.\n2) Applicants may include the Project Team, PI, Team members and Key Participants in the Abstract box.\n3) Other than any Team information mentioned above, Applicants should limit the abstract to 200 words, then paste this into the Abstract box.\n4) Once you enter all of the Letter of Intent information required in the FOA and click the \"Create Letter of Intent\" button, your Letter of Intent has been officially submitted and the requirement satisfied. You should receive an email informing you that it has been successfully submitted. The Letter of Intent information becomes part of the Full Application; a separate Word or PDF copy of the Letter of Intent is not generated within EERE Exchange.\n5) You may edit the Letter of Intent information as part of the Full Application once it is created until the Letter of Intent deadline of 5:00 PM ET Thursday 9/17/2015 (PLEASE NOTE THAT A Letter of Intent SUBMITTAL IS NO LONGER REQUIRED)."]
[16,"2015-09-08","Application Content/Format","In order to best prepare for the proposal due this December for the 2017 competition, would it be possible to get a hold of proposals from previous competitions? ","Other than a request under the Freedom of Information Act at www.foia.gov, there is not a convenient method to receive proposals from previous competitions. DOE encourages applicants to visit www.SolarDecathlon.gov to read about previous and current Solar Decathlon projects."]
[17,"2015-09-21","Application Content/Format","I heard a rumor that an organization applied for the upcoming Solar Decathlon.  I would like to better understand who authored the proposal.","Submitted applications are confidential and not available for disclosure during the DOE EERE review process. A Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request may be submitted at www.foia.gov for information that may be released after the selections have been made."]
[18,"2015-09-22","Eligibility","This refers to the announcement of Solar Decathlon to be held in Irving, California on 8-18 October 2015.  I would like to know whether we can participate or witness the Decathlon, so as to start a similar event in our country.  What are the procedures to be adopted?\n","EERE/DOE Solar Decathlons are open for public viewing and the development of similar programs is encouraged. Please see www.solardecathlon.gov for more information."]
[19,"2015-09-26","Foreign Entities/Work","I’m a member of a collegiate team who attend a University that is located outside the United States.  We would like to use materials that are available in our country to build a house that could be located in Marine region of the United States. \nSo is it permissible to use materials that are sourced from outside the United States and will the energy used to import these materials into the United States be factored against the energy efficiency of the house?","Materials can be sourced from outside the United States and the energy used to import these materials into the United States will not factored against the energy efficiency of the house."]
[20,"2015-09-26","Application Content/Format","Is it possible to view a sample of a full application that was submitted by pervious Solar Decathlon participates?","A Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) must be submitted at www.foia.gov for information that may be released from previous Solar Decathlons."]
[21,"2015-09-29","Application Content/Format","I have submitted Letter of Intent and received the control number, so will I now receive approval to submit the Full Proposal?\n","Exchange automatically sends an email to Applicants notifying them that their Letter of Intent was successfully submitted.  The next step is to then submit a Full Application by the October 29, 2015 5:00 PM ET deadline (PLEASE NOTE THAT A Letter of Intent SUBMITTAL IS NO LONGER REQUIRED)."]
[22,"2015-10-06","Registration Requirements","Is it still possible to submit a Letter of Intent?","The requirement to submit Letter of Intent is being removed from the 2017 Solar Decathlon Team Competition DE-FOA-0001398.  Posting of this revised FOA is pending, but you are encouraged to submit a Full Application by the October 29, 2015 at 5:00 PM ET deadline.\n\nFull Application submissions must conform to the following form and content requirements, including maximum page lengths, described below and must be submitted via EERE Exchange at https://eere-exchange.energy.gov/, unless specifically stated otherwise."]
[23,"2015-10-06","Registration Requirements","If a Letter of Intent is submitted after the September 17, 2015 deadline can a Full Application still be submitted?\n\nAlso, what is the amount of the prize money that will be given to each team and is this prize money paid before the contest?","PLEASE NOTE THAT A LETTER OF INTENT IS NO LONGER REQUIRED but the Full Application must be submitted by the October 29, 2015 at 5:00 PM ET deadline.\n\nA breakdown of how the prize money is distributed to the top 20 teams is provided in the FOA (see Introduction) and the prize money is distributed after judging is completed."]
[24,"2015-10-06","Registration Requirements","Our team has a question in regard to the Statement of Project Objectives.  At the very top of the template of the Statement of Project Objectives it calls for an Award Number and a Mod Number.  Are we as a team supposed to be aware of those numbers already?  If so where are they found?","Per the FOA Section IV.A. “Application Process,” a control number will be issued when an Applicant begins the Exchange application process. This control number must be included with all Application documents. Please refer to the FOA for more details."]
[25,"2015-10-08","Registration Requirements","We are a new Solar Decathlon Collegiate team applying for the 2017 competitions.  However, we had a couple questions regarding the SF-424 application.  It references an \"authorized representative\" as well as \"funding opportunity number\" and \"estimated federal funding\", and we are confused in how to go about filling this out and if you could clarify anything for us.\n\nIn addition, we are having trouble finding the award number and control number for the SOPO document.  None of this information has been disclosed to us after submitting the letter of intent.\n","The “Authorized Representative” is the person who will represent the team when direct communication with the Program Administrator and/or the Department of Energy is required.\n  \nThe “Funding Opportunity Number” is DE-FOA-0001371 for the Program Administrator and DE-FOA-0001398 for the Team Competition.\n\nThe “Estimated Funding” for the 2017 & 2019 Program Administrator (DE-FOA-0001371) is $2-4 million ($1 million for Program Administration and $1 million for prize money—for each Solar Decathlon).\n \nThe “Estimated Funding” for the Team Competition (DE-FOA-0001398) is zero dollars ($0.00) because prize money is distributed at the conclusion of the competition and only to 1st – 20th place.\n\nAn award number is not applicable to the  2017 Solar Decathlon Program Administrator or the 2017 Solar Decathlon Team Competition at this point of the process and does not have to be added to the SOPO.\n\nApplicants receive a control number when they create an application and should include that control number in the file name of their Full Application submission (i.e., Control Number_Applicant Name_Full Application).\n"]
[26,"2015-10-13","Registration Requirements","We are curious to learn about your site selection process for 2017. Do you have a bid package prepared? And, if not, when will those materials be released? ","At this point in time (10/13/2015), the only remaining opportunity to participate in the 2017 Solar Decathlon is through the 2017 Solar Decathlon College Team Competition DE-FOA-001398.  This FOA can be viewed on Exchange (https://eere-exchange.energy.gov/).  Please note that a Letter of Intent submittal is no longer required for the College Team Competition, but a Full Application must be submitted by the October 29, 2015 5:00PM ET deadline."]
[27,"2015-10-15","Application Content/Format","We are working on our full proposal and would like to know if there are any updates. ","An update is that a LETTER OF INTENT submission is no longer required. The Full Application still must be submitted by the October 29, 2015 at 5:00 PM ET deadline.\n\nAs specified in the FOA, EERE still anticipates notifying applicants of its final selection decision by late January 2016 and anticipates making the resultant award by late March 2016.\n"]
[28,"2015-10-19","Technical Topics"," I understand that batteries are currently being considered for the future Solar Decathlons, and we look forward to that announcement. When will the official 2017 Rules be released?","Rules for the 2017 Solar Decathlon will be released January - February 2016."]
[29,"2015-10-19","Technical Topics","Is energy storage by hydrogen generation allowed under 2015 Rules, i.e. PV electricity powering a water electrolyzer?  Can one store hydrogen for later power use via a fuel cell?","No storage is allowed under the current rules."]
[30,"2015-10-19","Technical Topics","Will hydrogen vehicles (now that they are commercial) be allowed?","No, we won’t consider hydrogen vehicles."]
[31,"2015-10-20","Application Content/Format","We are team from outside the United States and we are applying to compete in the 2017 Solar Decathlon.  We have some questions on how we should fill in the application for federal assistance, the SF-424. \n\nBecause we are a foreign university and are not partnering with an American university, we don't know if we are eligible for the federal assistance in this American collegiate competition.  Because of this fact, we have the following questions:\n\nIs it necessary for us to fill out the SF-424?\n\nIf we do have to, we don't have any federal identifiers or American tax number as described on the form.  So how could we get those or should we leave them out?\n\nCould you give us some more information about the form and how to fill it in as a foreign university?\n","As described in the Eligibility Information section of the FOA, foreign entities are eligible to apply and must follow the applicable procedures.\n\nAs specified in the FOA, the SF-424 needs to be filled out in order to qualify for an application review.  This means inputting as much information as is applicable at this point-in-time.\n\nThe FOA contains the necessary guidance to direct both domestic and foreign entities through the application process.\n"]
[32,"2015-10-21","Application Content/Format","Since the DOE will not be paying out monies up-front to applicants, how much detail is required in the EERE 335 form?  Should Indirect Costs be included in the budget?  In the EERE 335 form, do we need to document how cost share/donations will cover project costs?","As prescribed in the FOA, a completed EERE 335 is a required component of the Full Application.  Since this resultant EERE 335 will be assessed as part of the DOE selection review, it is prudent to complete the EERE 335 to the extent that it accurately portrays the fiscal fortitude of the Team."]
[33,"2015-09-24","Eligibility","My fellow architecture and engineering students are getting together to submit a proposal for the 2017 Solar Decathlon and I was wondering if you could provide us with more information on how to proceed.","PLEASE NOTE THAT A LETTER OF INTENT IS NO LONGER REQUIRED but the Full Application must be submitted by the October 29, 2015 at 5:00 PM ET deadline."]
[34,"2015-10-27","Application Content/Format","In point 12 of the ''Application for Federal Assistance SF-424 '' is about the required assurances. My question is; which assurances are needed for this application? ","The Assurances referenced in Section 21 of the SF-424 Application can be found in the hyperlink in the Announcement document page 12 \"SF-424: APPLICATION FOR FEDERAL ASSISTANCE\" section."]
[35,"2015-10-27","Due Dates","I was wondering where can I see when and how to apply SD (US, China, Latin America, Europe).\nIf I understand correctly, it is not possible to apply SD 2017 in the US anymore. \nI was looking for dates at the website and couldn't find any until now. How can I get the information in time to apply the next contest?\n\n","For information on upcoming Solar Decathlons, you can visit http://www.solardecathlon.gov/2015/news.html and sign up for News Blogs and Newsletters to keep you informed. Also, check www.grants.gov and https://eere-exchange.energy.gov/ for open opportunities."]
[36,"2015-10-29","Application Content/Format","Do the Concept and Design Elements with the 500 word 1 page summary, described on the bottom of page 11 of the FOA (page 14 in Acrobat) have to fit within the 20 page limit of the Technical Volume as described in the Announcement p. 11, or can this be outside the Technical Volume limit as a separate appendix document as described in the webinar PowerPoint slide 12?","Since there is a discrepancy between EERE's documents, either location will be accepted."]
[37,"2015-11-10","Registration Requirements","I am currently on the leadership team for a potential Solar Decathlon team that hopes to compete in the 2019 competition.  I was wondering if there are any resources you could provide us, like rules or timelines, or if we could be added to any group messaging sites used for communication about the competition. ","Timeframes for the 2019 competition may be formulated as early as 2016.  In the meantime, please refer to the Notice Document located in the FOA DOCUMENTS section of the 2017 Solar Decathlon College Team Competition Notice DE-FOA-0001398 in Exchange for an example of the most current guidance.\n\nIt is probable that the Funding Opportunity Announcement for the 2019 Solar Decathlon will be published in both Exchange (https://eere-exchange.energy.gov/Default.aspx) and Grants.gov (http://www.grants.gov/web/grants/search-grants.html) in 2017.\n\nBoth (http://energy.gov/) and (http://www.solardecathlon.gov/) are the sites that are primarily used to communicate about the competition."]

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["Pick List"]
[]
["Registration Requirements"]
["Webinar"]
["Eligibility"]
["Labs/FFRDCs"]
["Foreign Entities/Work"]
["Cost Sharing"]
["Due Dates"]
["Application Content/Format"]
["Intellectual Property"]
["Data Management"]
["U.S. Manufacturing Plan"]
["Application Reviews"]
["Technical Topics"]