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["INSTRUCTIONS"]
[1,"All questions pertaining to this funding opportunity announcement should be emailed to https://epicweb.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 FOA 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-0002609 FY 2022 Solar Manufacturing Incubator Funding Opportunity Announcement\n"]
["Question #","Date Submitted","Topic","Question","Answer"]
[1,"2022-07-15","Eligibility","Hello I’m an inventor with novel invention patented prototype available and ready for demonstration. Can I apply for funding?","See Section I.B. Topic Areas, I.C. Applications specifically not of Interest, and Section III. A. Eligible Applicants. "]
[2,"2022-07-21","Eligibility","Can an applicant who applied for DE-FOA-0002606 and did not receive a result apply for DE-FOA-0002609? ","See Section I.B. Topic Areas, I.C. Applications specifically not of Interest, and Section III. A. Eligible Applicants. "]
[3,"2022-07-28","Eligibility","Can an international organization (without a US subsidiary) be a lead applicant?\nIs there a requirement for how much effort/% of work the lead must complete on the project?","See Section III. A. Eligible Applicants and Section III.A.iii. Foreign Entities. "]
[4,"2022-08-01","Eligibility","We are a black minority-owned solar company that is interested in manufacturing solar panels in an incubator program with the department. We have identified a technology partner in Europe that is willing to provide the technology. Can you please assist us in the steps we can take? ","See Section IV. Application and Submission Information as well as Section I.B. Topic Areas to ensure that the application fits within the areas of interence for this funding opportunity."]
[5,"2022-08-02","Webinar","We are interested in watching the webinar on 8/3/2022 at 3pm ET. Please let us know how to do that.","Webinar details, including the link to register, can be found here: https://eere-exchange.energy.gov/Default.aspx#FoaId1c13611c-08dc-4649-8d6e-ceb50caa81ea "]
[6,"2022-08-03","Other","With regards to 2022 Solar Manufacturing Incubator FOA: Are you aware of any prime recipients who expressed an interest in applying for this FOA? If yes, please, help me connect with them.","EERE will not disclose applicant names or other applicant information. "]
[7,"2022-08-03","Technical Topics","In the webinar it was said that this fund was “especially focused on funding Cadmium Telluride technologies. We currently use monocrystalline cells in our BIPV solar shingle.  Do you think this puts us at a disadvantage in being awarded the grant?\n\nOur current needs are tooling, equipment, & personnel to meet the growing national and international demand for our solar roofing product. Does an existing in need of funds to scale production best fit the parameters of this fund? ","Topic Area 1 is focused on R&D activities with the goal of develop new products or manufacturing processes across the solar value chain, including BIPV with monocrystalline cells.\n\nThe goal of Topic Area 1 is to de-risk new technologies and manufacturing processes and bring them to a commercially relevant prototype stage, while developing and validating a realistic pathway to commercial success. R&D project proposals for Topic Area 1 can include tooling, equipment, & personnel expenditures to meet project goals. Please review Section I.B Topic Areas for more information."]
[8,"2022-08-05","Webinar","Is there a link to the webinar from Wednesday or will it be posted to the informational page?","Webinar slides and script have been added to the informational page of the FOA, which can be found here: https://eere-exchange.energy.gov/Default.aspx#FoaId1c13611c-08dc-4649-8d6e-ceb50caa81ea. "]
[9,"2022-08-05","Technical Topics","We have been working on a set of thermal electric generators for a while and want to apply them to solar thermal energy to increase the efficiency of solar thermal farms. Is this program only for photovoltaics or can we submit a application for solar thermal? \n\nIf solar thermal isn’t allowed, do you know if there’s any other programs looking for a solar thermal proposals? ","Please see Section I.B. Topic Areas. Current SETO funding opportunities can be found at eere-exchange.energy.gov. "]
[10,"2022-08-15","Eligibility","My client would like to apply for the DOE EERE solar manufacturing incubator grant  DE-FOA-0002609, and meets most requirements for topic 1 (they do perovskite R&D). However, there are two areas that could potentially disqualify them so please let me know if the client should not apply based on the following:\n1) They are also applying for DOE EERE DE-FOA-0002582 (PVRD Topic 2- Perovskites).  Since topic 2 only has two awards it is very competitive.\n2) They have some private funding.  (I noticed that the FOA mentions projects that are unlikely to qualify for private funding should apply, but this company has some private funding, but needs more funding, so is considering all sources). \n\nI wondered if either point 1 or 2 above means that they are not a good fit for the grant.  ","1) There are no restrictions on applying to multiple funding opportunities, but EERE will not fund the same project under multiple opportunities. Please review the Section I.B. Topic Areas, I.C. Applications specifically not of Interest to ensure that your application meets the intent of the FOA. \n\n2) The statement in the FOA says, \"...there must be significant technical and business risks that need to be retired for which private funding is unlikely, owing to the early-stage nature of the proposed product or solution.\" Applicants are not restricted from applying if they have recieved private funding. "]
[11,"2022-08-31","Other","The link to the solar Manufacturing Incubator FOA is bad (DE-FOA-0002609 FY 2022).  It says the file is corrupt.  Can you please send a good link that we may view the FOA?","Please try using a  browser, such as Google Chrome or Microsoft Edge, to open the following link: https://eere-exchange.energy.gov/Default.aspx#FoaId1c13611c-08dc-4649-8d6e-ceb50caa81ea "]
[12,"2022-09-07","Webinar","Please reply with copies of the presentation slides and recorded material from your Informational Webinar session last month. ","Webinar slides and script have been added to the informational page of the FOA, which can be found here: https://eere-exchange.energy.gov/Default.aspx#FoaId1c13611c-08dc-4649-8d6e-ceb50caa81ea. "]
[13,"2022-09-09","Letter of Intent","We wanted to reach out to you with the idea to submit a LOI under \"Topic I - Multi-use integrated photovoltaic systems\". We have reached out to our friends and they agreed that we should try to toss out hat in the ring to secure funding for the commercialization of our joint project. Please let us know if there would be an opportunity to meet with you or with someone to prepare the submission of our Letter of Intent next Friday.","Please see Section I.B.i. for more information regarding Topic Area 1's areas of interest.  Please note, as stated Section VII, \"...EERE personnel are prohibited from communicating (in writing or otherwise) with applicants regarding the FOA except through the established question and answer process...\""]
[14,"2022-09-12","Letter of Intent","I am having an issue with submitting a letter of intent for the FOA listed in the subject of this email. On the LOI submission screen, the field for \"Organization type\" does not include a selection for \"Small Business\", which to my understanding of the solicitation is an eligible entity. I attached a screenshot showing this. Please let me know how I should proceed.","Please contact EERE-ExchangeSupport@hq.doe.gov for assistance."]
[15,"2022-09-15","Letter of Intent","Attached is our Letter of Intent to Apply for Innovative Manufacturing Grant DE-FOA-0002609.","All Letters of Intent have to be submitted in EERE Exchange by 09/16/2022 at 5pm ET. "]
[16,"2022-09-16","Letter of Intent","I am writing to inform the Solar Manufacturing Incubator team that I intend to submit an application under Topic Area 1, Product Development, for the Funding Opportunity Announcement Number: DE-FOA-0002609.\n\nMy technology is in the proof-of-concept stage and pertains to enabling multi-use integrated photovoltaic systems with a novel hardware technology directly aligning with the area described in the solicitation that \"reduces the balance of system costs of a PV system and enables improved siting flexibility, including on distubed or contaminated sites.\"\n\nThank you for your time. I look forward to submitting my full application prior to the Oct 3 deadline.","All Letters of Intent were due in EERE Exchange by 09/16/2022 at 5pm ET. "]
[17,"2022-09-21","Application Content/Format","For the SFLLL, Disclosure of lobbying activities. Q1: Is this document required for anyone even if we do not have lobbying activities? Q2: If this is needed for all applicants, I do not know much of the information there, e.g. Lobbying Registrant, individual performing services, etc. Can you elaborate these questions?","1. Yes, this form is required for all recipients and subrecipients. See Section IV.D.xii. SF-LLL: Disclosure of Lobbying Activities (required). 2. If an entity is lobbying, this information would be known to them. For applicants who do not lobby, they should provide information to the best of their ability or insert not applicable if determined by the organizations authorized representative. EERE cannot provide instruction how this form is completed. "]
[18,"2022-09-22","Application Content/Format","I have questions about the Statement of Current and Pending Support. What's not clear to me is what this really means to the applicant. We are a private company led by our CEO.  We have no public funding, no volunteers, no gifts -- our funding comes totally from private investors. Are we supposed to disclose our private investors and what we are spending their money on or does this document only require us to list public/non-profit support?\n\nI am open to any advice you can give or willing to have a longer conversation to address the above.  Please let me know. ","As stated in the FOA, current and pending support is intended to allow the identification of potential duplication, overcommitment, potential conflicts of interest or commitment, and all other sources of support. Please see section IV.D.xv. Current and Pending Support for the list of items needed per activity."]
[19,"2022-09-23","Application Content/Format","1. Do SF-424 forms need to be submitted for subrecipients or by just the prime applicant?\n2. Do SF-LLL forms need to be submitted if there are no lobbying efforts? If so, how should they be marked?","1. The SF424 is not required for subrecipients. 2. Yes, SFLLL forms are required even if there are no lobbying efforts. See answer 17. "]
[20,"2022-09-26","Due Dates","We regret to announce that we are not likely to be able to make the October 3rd deadline for this FOA due to Hurricane Ian.  I suppose no one at the DOE will feel inclined to move the date forward slightly to correct for this difficulty?  ","DOE will not be extending the due dates for the FOA. "]
[22,"2022-09-26","Due Dates","I was hoping I might be able to be granted an extension for submitting a full proposal on Topic area 1. I know you have a tight turn around for review comments to come back. However I would like to be able to submit a strong proposal and feel like the time from LOI to full application due date has left me behind the ball and in need of more time. I understand if this is impossible, but if it is possible an extension would be a great help.","DOE will not be extending the due dates for the FOA. "]
[23,"2022-09-27","Foreign Entities/Work","We are a US based corporation applying as the Prime. We need to use a Canadian based contractor (the “Canadian Contractor”) to provide a critical R&D component of our grant proposal consisting primarily of PhD research time and some supplies. Of the grant funds we are seeking, 100% of those funds will be paid domestically to NREL. A portion of the cost share funds funded solely from our company will be the source of funds paid to the Canadian Contractor which will comprise a significant portion of our cost share. In this circumstance, would we need to submit a Waiver for Performance of Work in the United States with our proposal?","Yes, a waiver request would be required for this instance. "]
[24,"2022-09-27","Other","We submitted a LOI for a joint project with another company, where my company was the subrecipient. For our final submittal would it be possible to change to have my company as the lead organization?","Applicants may change the Lead Organization in between the submission of a Letter of Intent and the submission of the Full Application. "]
[26,"2022-09-27","Letter of Intent","In the Webinar on the https://eere-exchange.energy.gov/ it states: \"EERE will provide notification of eligibility for Letters of Intent\".  When will this occur?  The full application is due in 6 days.","Per the FOA, \"Letters of Intent are deemed compliant if: The applicant entered all required information and clicked the 'Submit' button in EERE Exchange by the deadline stated in the FOA.\" See section III.C.i, Compliance Criteria."]
[27,"2022-10-01","Application Content/Format","I have been trying for 2 weeks to get a UIE from SAM for the  FSF-424. I have not been told if anything or what might be missing from my application. Hopefully this will be sorted by the deadline on Monday since everything else is ready. Will the absence of the UIE prevent me from submitting the application?","Each applicant is required to: (1) Be registered in the SAM at https://www.sam.gov before submitting its application; (2) provide a valid UEI in its application; and (3) continue to maintain an active SAM registration with current information at all times during which it has an active federal award or an application or plan under consideration by a federal awarding agency. See section IV.G. Unique Entity Identifier (UEI) and System for Award Management (SAM). "]
[28,"2022-10-03","Application Content/Format","On page 42 of FOA Number: DE-FOA-0002609, does “Full Application” mean “Technical Volume”?  I am just trying to clarify regarding the forms, resumes, current and pending support, etc.  ","The \"Full Application\" refers to all documents required for a complete application, as shown in the table on page 45. "]
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{"sheet":"Admin Pick List","index":2,"n_rows":17,"n_cols":1,"rows_kept":17,"cut":false,"hidden":true,"merged":[]}
["Pick List"]
[]
["Registration Requirements"]
["Webinar"]
["Letter of Intent"]
["Eligibility"]
["Labs/FFRDCs"]
["Foreign Entities/Work"]
["Cost Sharing"]
["Due Dates"]
["Application Content/Format"]
["Intellectual Property"]
["Data Management"]
["Other"]
["U.S. Manufacturing Plan"]
["Application Reviews"]
["Technical Topics"]