[Federal Register: December 11, 2002 (Volume 67, Number 238)]
[Notices]
[Page 76168-76169]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr11de02-27]
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DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY
National Energy Technology Laboratory; Notice of Availability of
a Financial Assistance Solicitation
AGENCY: National Energy Technology Laboratory (NETL), Department of
Energy (DOE).
ACTION: Notice of availability of a financial assistance solicitation.
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SUMMARY: Notice is hereby given of the intent to issue Financial
Assistance Solicitation No. DE-PS26-03NT41718 entitled ``Large Scale
Mercury Control Field Testing Program''. The DOE/NETL is seeking
applications to conduct long-term (minimum of two-to-four months at
optimum process conditions) field testing of advanced mercury control
technologies to (1) verify technology performance in terms of total
(50-80%+ based on coal type, equipment, etc.) and speciated mercury
removal relative to changes in load and coal-mercury concentration for
all coal types (including blends) but emphasizing high-elemental, low
rank coals, (2) determine realistic process/equipment costs for various
levels of mercury removed for a variety of equipment configurations
focusing on smaller surface collection area (SCA) electrostatic
precipitators (SCA <300 ft2/ thousand actual cubic feet of
flue-gas) for bituminous coals, (3) determine mercury removal levels
for blends of different rank coals including subbituminous/high-sulfur
bituminous; (4) quantify balance-of-plant (BOP) impacts such as
Electro-Static Precipitator (ESP) performance, baghouse performance and
bag life, byproduct contamination, corrosion, parasitic load, etc.; and
(5) measure and assess potential multiple pollutant or co-control
associated with mercury control technology.
In addition, several semi-continuous emission monitors (S-CEMS)
would be used to monitor variations in mercury content of flue gas and
track technology performance while collecting high quality inlet/outlet
mercury speciation data with Ontario Hydro measurements at the
beginning, middle and end of each test campaign (plus additional
measurements as needed to verify S-CEM results). Tests of by-products
may be limited to characterization tests (foaming index, etc.) but
collection of enough samples would be obtained for other programs to
conduct more detailed or extensive tests, and measurement of mercury in
all streams (including water) to seek closure on mercury balances.
DATES: The solicitation will be available on the DOE/NETL's Internet
address at http://www.netl.doe.gov/business and on the ``Industry
Interactive Procurement System'' (IIPS) webpage located at http://e-center.doe.gov
on or about December 30, 2002.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Martin J. Byrnes, U.S. Department of
Energy, National Energy Technology Laboratory, P.O. Box 10940, MS 921-
107, Pittsburgh, PA 15236, E-mail Address: byrnes@netl.doe.gov,
Telephone Number: 412-386-4486.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: NETL held two workshops (in June and
September 2002) with key stakeholders from the utility industry,
government agencies, research organizations, and academia to obtain
input on the content and structure of future mercury research and
development. A summary of the workshop proceedings can be found at
http://www.netl.doe.gov/coalpower/environment. The workshop
participants identified a number of different configurations and
technologies that need further long-term testing.
In response, DOE-NETL is issuing a solicitation focused on four
major areas that are expected to be important in developing mercury
control strategies for the coal-fired electric utility industry and
help ensure the continued availability of low-cost electricity from
coal while meeting growing air quality demands. Details concerning the
solicitation are described below (with allowable scale of testing
described in Table 1). Topic Area 1 would focus on sorbent injection
technology, Topic Area 2 would cover technologies aimed at wet flue-gas
desulfurization enhancement, Topic Area 3 would seek proposals offering
oxidation systems and Topic Area 4 would allow for any technologies
ready for long-term field-testing. The solicitation supports the
overall goal of the Department of Energy/Office of Fossil Energy's
Innovations for Existing Plants (IEP) Program to develop advanced
technology and knowledge products that enhance the environmental
performance of the existing fleet of coal-
[[Page 76169]]
fired power plants. The four Areas of Interest for this solicitation
are:
Topic 1: Field Testing of Activated Carbon/Sorbents Upstream/
Downstream of Existing Utility Particulate Control Devices for
Bituminous and Low Rank Coals (Powder River Basin and Lignite).
Topic 2: Field Testing of Effective Mercury Control Technologies
Upstream of and Across Wet Flue Gas Desulfurization Systems.
Topic 3: Field Testing of Non-Sorbent Based Concepts for Increasing
the Oxidation of Elemental Mercury for Removal in Downstream Air
Pollution Control Equipment.
Topic 4: Other Mercury Control Technologies Ready for Long-Term
Field-Testing.
Table 1.--Topic Area Matrix
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Coal type/existing equipment
Topic area No. Topic area configuration Scale of testing
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1................................... Sorbent Injection...... Bituminous--SCA <300 CSESP/ 1.
HSESP Lignite/Sub-
bituminous--ESP/FF (or
COHPAC) (no SCA limit) Coal
Blends--no SCA limit).
2................................... FGD Enhancement........ All coals types or blends 1.
with wet FGD..
3................................... Oxidation Systems...... All coals or blends 1 or 2.
applicable to plants with
or without wet FGD.
4................................... Other.................. All coals individually or 1 or 2.
blends and all existing
equipment configurations.
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1. Full-scale (minimum 100 MWe).
2. Slip-stream (minimum 10 MWe).
Scale of Testing
DOE anticipates allocating $1.5 million or less in cost sharing per
test site. DOE recognizes that certain mercury control technologies
proposed for full-scale testing may require significant outlays for
capital equipment in order to be tested. Given that the funding
available for this solicitation is limited and is to be used primarily
for testing and evaluation of the performance of the proposed
technology and not for the purchase of equipment, DOE is allowing for
slip-stream testing of technologies under Topic Areas 3 and 4. However,
if the offeror wants to test at full scale, then they would be required
to cover the additional costs above DOE threshold of $1.5 million per
test site (or 75% cost sharing, whichever is less). DOE anticipates
that funds will be approximately allocated as 2/3 to full-scale testing
and 1/3 to pilot-scale testing.
It is anticipated that there will be 9-12 Financial Assistance
(Cooperative Agreements) awards with performance periods ranging from
12-42 months. The total estimated Award Value for all projects awarded
under this solicitation is estimated at $19-$25 million with total
federal funding anticipated between $15-$20 million with a required
recipient cost sharing of 25% of total cost.
Eligibility for participation in this Program Solicitation is
considered to be full and open. All interested parties may apply. The
solicitation will contain a complete description of the evaluation
factors and the relative importance of each factor. Applications
submitted by or on behalf of (1) Another Federal agency; (2) a
Federally Funded Research and Development Center sponsored by another
Federal agency; or (3) a Department of Energy (DOE) Management
Operating (M&O) contractor will not be eligible for award under this
solicitation. However, an application that includes performance of a
portion of the work by a DOE M&O contractor will be evaluated and may
be considered for award subject to the provisions to be set forth in
Program Solicitation DE-PS26-03NT41718.
Once released, the solicitation will be available for downloading
from the IIPS Internet page. At this Internet site you will also be
able to register with IIPS, enabling you to submit an application. If
you need technical assistance in registering or for any other IIPS
function, call the IIPS Help Desk at (800) 683-0751 or E-mail the Help
Desk personnel at IIPS_HelpDesk@e-center.doe.gov. The solicitation
will only be made available in IIPS, no hard (paper) copies of the
solicitation and related documents will be made available.
Prospective applicants who would like to be notified as soon as the
solicitation is available should subscribe to the Business Alert
Mailing List at http://www.netl.doe.gov/business. Once you subscribe,
you will receive an announcement by E-mail that the solicitation has
been released to the public. Telephone requests, written requests, E-
mail requests, or facsimile requests for a copy of the solicitation
package will not be accepted and/or honored. Applications must be
prepared and submitted in accordance with the instructions and forms
contained in the solicitation. The actual solicitation document will
allow for requests for explanation and/or interpretation.
Issued in Pittsburgh, PA November 28, 2002.
Richard D. Rogus,
Acting Director, Acquisition and Assistance Division.
[FR Doc. 02-31202 Filed 12-10-02; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6450-01-P