[Federal Register Volume 74, Number 23 (Thursday, February 5, 2009)]
[Notices]
[Pages 6144-6146]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E9-2460]
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DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY
Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy
Notice of Opportunity for Technical Assistance (NOTA); Solar
America Showcases (General) 2009
AGENCY: Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy, Department of
Energy (DOE).
ACTION: Notice of Opportunity for Technical Assistance (DE-PS36-
09GO99021).
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SUMMARY: The Department of Energy (DOE) today gives Notice of
Opportunity
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for Technical Assistance (NOTA). The purpose of this NOTA is to support
the goal of DOE's Solar America Initiative (SAI) to reduce the cost of
solar photovoltaic technologies so that they become cost-competitive
with grid electricity by 2015. The SAI represents a significant
enhancement of DOE's business strategy of partnering with key
stakeholders to accelerate commercialization of photovoltaic (PV)
system research and development (R&D) to meet aggressive cost and
installed capacity goals. DOE's Solar Energy Technologies Program uses
research and development (R&D), testing and evaluation, and market
transformation (MT) approaches to meet its SAI goal. MT efforts aim to
reduce market barriers and promote market expansion of solar energy
technologies through non-R&D activities. There are several aspects to
SAI MT that should be kept in mind by Applicants to this NOTA:
DOE is looking to identify and remove market barriers. DOE
is seeking to identify and minimize or remove barriers to solar
technology commercialization as quickly and efficiently as possible.
DOE is looking for significant market changing activities.
DOE is seeking to make large and significant changes in the marketplace
through its market transformation activities.
DOE is focused on near- and mid-term results. Accordingly,
emphasis will be on projects and activities with the greatest potential
to assist the DOE in reaching its SAI goal by 2015 (for more
information, see SAI Web site at http://www1.eere.energy.gov/solar/solar_america/index.html).
DOE is looking for performers and partners who are
committed to the SAI mission. In order to achieve the SAI mission of
2015, DOE is inclined to partner and work with highly motivated
entities.
The DOE will provide Technical Assistance to large-scale, high-
visibility solar installation projects that have the ability to impact
the market for solar technologies through large project size, use of a
novel solar technology, and/or use of a novel application for a solar
technology. In addition, it is desired that the project be replicable
or have replicable components. Large-scale installations may include
photovoltaic, concentrating solar power, solar water heating, and solar
space heating applications.
Technical assistance will not be provided for research,
development, or early-stage testing and evaluation of any technology or
product. Solar America Showcases focus on providing support to projects
in which a commercially-ready technology is to be installed in a large-
scale application with full financial project commitment already in
place. Support for research, product development or early stage testing
and evaluation of solar products or technologies may be available under
other Solar America Initiative opportunities.
DOE will not purchase hardware or otherwise provide direct funding
to organizations selected from this Notice.
For further detail, see the SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION section of
this document, and the full Notice of Opportunity for Technical
Assistance (NOTA) at the DOE Industry Interactive Procurement System
(IIPS) Web site: http://e-center.doe.gov/.
DATES: Requests for Technical Assistance must be submitted by 11:59 PM
Eastern Time via the DOE Industry Interactive Procurement System (IIPS)
Web site: http://e-center.doe.gov/ on the dates indicated in the table
below to be considered under this Notice. Requests received after the
submission due date/time will automatically be considered and reviewed
in the next cycle other than the last cycle. DOE reserves the right to
add other submission dates or repost the Notice, pending review of the
requests for Technical Assistance received during the open period. DOE
may continue to enter into Memoranda of Agreements (MOA) with selected
organizations/entities, until the total value of DOE's Technical
Assistance has been allocated or all selected projects have received
the required Technical Assistance needed.
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Notice closing date Submission due date/time
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03/31/2009........................ 03/31/2009 11:59 PM ET.
06/30/2009........................ 06/30/2009 11:59 PM ET.
09/30/2009........................ 09/30/2009 11:59 PM ET.
12/30/2009........................ 12/30/2009 11:59 PM ET.
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ADDRESSES: All requests for Technical Assistance must be submitted to
the DOE Industry Interactive Procurement System (IIPS) Web site: http://e-center.doe.gov/. Applications submitted via any other method will
not be considered for Technical Assistance under this notice.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Questions regarding the content of the
notice must be submitted through the ``Submit Question'' feature of the
DOE Industry Interactive Procurement System (IIPS) at http://e-center.doe.gov. Locate the Notice on IIPS and then click on the
``Submit Question'' button. Enter required information. You will
receive an electronic notification that your question has been
answered. DOE will try to respond to a question within 3 business days,
unless a similar question and answer have already been posted on the
Web site. All questions must be submitted no later than one week prior
to the closing date.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The purpose of Solar America Showcases (SAS)
is to accelerate demand for solar technologies among key end-use market
sectors. Under this activity, DOE will provide Technical Assistance to
large-scale, high-visibility solar installation projects that have the
ability to impact the market for solar technologies through large
project size, use of a novel solar technology, and/or use of a novel
application for a solar technology. In addition, it is desired that the
project be replicable or have replicable components. It is not expected
that all projects will meet all of these parameters, but projects would
ideally reflect some or most of these qualities. Showcases may utilize
photovoltaic (PV), concentrating solar power (CSP), and solar water/air
heating (SWAH) applications.
DOE will not purchase hardware or provide any direct funding to
selected organizations through this Notice. Awards are comprised of
Technical Assistance only.
To provide more guidance regarding the types of installations DOE
is looking to support, additional information is provided below on the
parameters for (and examples of) projects for which DOE anticipates
receiving requests for Technical Assistance under this Notice.
Regarding the scale of the project, DOE is looking for projects
with total capacity of 250 kW or greater. Projects may include multiple
sites, and do not have to be co-located. The impact and visibility of a
geographically divided project, however, must remain high. In addition
to the initial installation, the kW total may also include planned
follow-on activities (direct replication efforts). Examples include
installations in residential subdivisions, shopping centers, office
buildings or parks, big box retail locations, factories, and utility
solar production.
Regarding the visibility of the project, DOE anticipates projects
that are highly visible, such as centrally located in towns, are sited
in high-traffic vehicle or pedestrian areas, house hundreds of
residents or workers, are located in an area frequented by tourists,
are located in a popular public destination (e.g. shopping centers,
courthouses, etc.), or have some other high visibility component. The
project would also have an outreach component that
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provides information about the installation, such as a kiosk that
displays information about the solar energy system.
Regarding the novel solar technology, DOE proposes to support
projects that introduce new solar technologies that hold the promise of
reducing initial costs, simplifying installation, and boosting consumer
confidence, but which have little testing to date that demonstrates
such improvements. Examples include new cell or module technology, new
materials, or innovative installation and mounting techniques. By
offering Technical Assistance, DOE envisions helping these new solar
technologies develop a performance record in the marketplace, identify
technical problems early in mass product releases, and devise solutions
and alternatives that move specific solar technologies to cost-
competitiveness by 2015.
Regarding the novel solar application, DOE expects to support
projects that utilize solar technology in new ways. One example would
be to include new methods of building integration beyond traditional
roof-mounted modules. DOE also supports innovative designs and methods
that open up previously untapped markets or end uses to solar
technology adoption. Acceptable applications could also include those
that are currently in use in other geographic areas, but not in the
vicinity (State, region) of the proposed site.
Regarding replicability, DOE expects to support projects that can
either be replicated by the entity requesting the Technical Assistance
or by others. The entire project should be replicable, or have
replicable components, unless installations are of an extremely large
size that justifies DOE support without replicability. Replication of
projects is a critical component to advance solar commercialization and
will be strongly considered under this opportunity.
Subject to annual Congressional appropriations, the estimated value
of the Technical Assistance to be available under this Notice is
approximately $2,000,000 during calendar year 2009.
Although there is no fixed limit on the amount of this annual
funding that can be dedicated to Technical Assistance under any one
project, individual projects will rarely receive assistance valued at
more than $500,000, unless the proposed project is truly exceptional in
how it advances the SAI goal. Technical Assistance may be provided to
selected projects until the total Technical Assistance budget has been
allocated or all selected projects have received the appropriate amount
of Technical Assistance. DOE may choose to offer a similar opportunity
for Technical Assistance in future years.
DOE anticipates entering into 8 to 16 agreements to provide
Technical Assistance to selected organizations under this Notice during
calendar year 2009. The actual number of agreements will depend on the
amount of Technical Assistance required by selected projects and the
amount of DOE funding available to support the Technical Assistance.
The period of performance of any individual agreements will be
negotiated to accommodate the specific project being supported. Typical
projects will range from 18 to 24 months in length.
DOE will provide tailored hands-on Technical Assistance to the
selected organization(s) through the use of specifically assembled
Technical Assistance Teams. Members of these Teams will be subject
matter and technical experts in areas such as architecture, finance,
planning, project management, etc. Significant participants of these
Teams will be the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), Sandia
National Laboratories (SNL), Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL), the
Southwest and Southeast Regional Experiment Stations (RESs), which are
housed at New Mexico State University and Florida Solar Energy Center,
respectively, as well as CH2M HILL, a global engineering firm selected
competitively under a prior DOE procurement. Other entities may be
added to the Teams by DOE as necessary. DOE may choose to contract for
non-lab Technical Assistance Team members, mainly to provide the non-
solar-specific Technical Assistance, through a separate procurement
instrument.
Technical Assistance provided under this Notice is designed to help
entities make informed decisions. Technical Assistance Teams will
provide information and options to enable policy, planning, and
purchasing decisions. DOE and the Technical Assistance Teams will not
direct behavior or decisions, or require entities to take any
particular course of action. The role of DOE stops short of the actual
decision-making on projects.
Any legal entity, to include private sector for-profit and non-
profit organizations, State and local governments, and trade and other
associations may request DOE Technical Assistance under this Notice, as
long as the installation proposed by the organization, and for which
the Technical Assistance will be provided, is located in the United
States.
Federal agencies are not permitted to request Technical Assistance
under this Notice.
Federally Funded Research and Development Center (FFRDC)
Contractors may not submit a request for Technical Assistance, may not
participate as a team partner with any entity requesting Technical
Assistance, and may not assist any entity with a request for Technical
Assistance under this Notice.
Nonprofit organizations described in section 501(c)(4) of the
Internal Revenue Code of 1986 that engaged in lobbying activities after
December 31, 1995 are not permitted to submit a request for Technical
Assistance under this Notice.
Cities that have been named ``Solar America Cities'' under a
separate DOE award are eligible under this Notice as long as the
requested technical assistance is complementary and not duplicative of
the technical assistance provided under the Solar America Cities Award
Memorandum of Agreement (MOA).
Technical Assistance described under this Notice will be provided
via a Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) between DOE, the organization
selected to receive the Technical Assistance, and the Technical
Assistance Team Leader responsible for providing the Technical
Assistance.
A MOA is a collaborative agreement between the Federal Government
and other parties to work together on a mutually beneficial activity.
The MOA will detail the scope of the Technical Assistance activities,
the forms of collaboration, the responsibilities of the partners to the
Agreement, and the treatment of any potential intellectual property.
Federal funding will not be provided to a partner under a MOA. View the
full NOTA at the DOE Industry Interactive Procurement System (IIPS) Web
site: http://e-center.doe.gov/.
Issued in Golden, CO on January 28, 2009.
Mary Foreman,
Assistant Manager, Office of Acquisition and Financial Assistance,
DOE--Golden Field Office.
[FR Doc. E9-2460 Filed 2-4-09; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6450-01-P