Question 1:
Can there be multiple submissions from a singular MSI institution?
Answer 1:
Yes, there can be multiple submissions from a singular MSI, provided that each application describes a unique project.
Question 2:
What is the award ceiling per year per award? It says that the maximum award size is $750,000. Therefore, I assume that it is $250,000 a year per award MAX.
Answer 2:
There is no specific celling per year per award. However, it is anticipated that $250,000 may be available per year per selected applicant.
Question 3:
Is there any limitation on the addition of personnel (new faculty/staff, postdocs, etc.) or large equipment purchases?
Answer 3:
While there is no limit on the addition of new personnel or on equipment purchases, proposed costs must be reasonable according to the scope of work, and must be allowable in accordance with the applicable cost principles. For institutions of higher education, the allowability of costs are referenced in OMB Circular A-21, “Cost Principles of Educational Institutions” (codified at 2 C.F.R. Part 220).”
In addition, equipment purchased with project funds (whether cost share or Federal funds) are subject to the equipment reporting, tracking, and disposition requirements in 10 CFR 600.134.
Question 4:
Thank you for the nice presentation. My question is about what kind research projects are supported by this FOA. Specifically, is basic research, such as theoretical/computational studies into energy conversion mechanisms to increase effectiveness of the solar energy concentration/harvesting/conversion, supported by this FOA?
Answer 4:
Please refer to FOA Section 1.A.6(1) Technical Areas of Interest for the SunShot Program under DISTANCE Solar, Photovoltaics: Computational modeling in support of PV materials, devices, and manufacturing concepts. However, the research needs to have reached Technology Readiness Level (TRL) 2 upon entrance to the program (reference Appendix D TRL levels: TRL 2: Technology concept and/or application formulated; Invention begins. Once basic principles are observed, practical applications can be invented. Applications are speculative and there may be no proof or detailed analysis to support the assumptions. )
Question 5:
Could you please tell me the difference between direct student support and a fellowship? The FOA does not allow for fellowships, but it will allow for direct student support.
Answer 5:
Fellowships and scholarships are previously established programs partly intended to add prestige to the recipients, often carrying the name of a distinguished person or being set apart by a particular title. Direct student support as intended by this FOA provides comprehensive retention of students in solar research assistance positions in the PI's lab or research experiences supervised or coordinated by the PI, which can include funds for tuition support, stipend, mentoring, tutoring.
Question 6:
The solicitation states “Each Full Application should be limited to a single concept or technology”. How broadly is this interpreted? If, for example, we are interested in developing novel photovoltaics and plan to investigate materials for both the transparent conducting oxide and the active region, would this be considered a single concept or two different concepts?
Answer 6:
A single concept, as the focus of the Solar Technical Research Plan is requested, is in order to define a distinct and cohesive project. If related aspects of a project can be rolled into a go/no go decision point and final deliverables that define the interim and final success of the whole project, respectively, then the spirit of providing a single concept with a cohesive project will likely be met.
Question 7:
The solicitation states that student research experiences at national labs are desirable. Should these collaborations be developed independently by the investigator, or are the students intended to take part in existing DoE programs (e.g. SULI)?
Answer 7:
Both types of relationships with national labs would be desirable, though budgeting for student internships should be included.
Question 8:
On page 37 of FOA (Section A – Baseline Education – line 2) it indicates that …. baseline data is requested about an applicant's department and record of student research participation. Our PI and Co-PI belong to, and represent, an Energy Institute that draws on students and faculty from all Colleges across the university AND we each have our "home" department. Further, on page 38 (Department of Undergraduate Student Baseline and Departmental Graduate Student Baseline) it indicates … Please provide the following information about the undergraduate/graduate student population of the PI's Department. Once again, we represent the Energy Institute and not a Department – hence many of our students do not come from our Department. Will our Baseline Education and Workforce Data be accepted if we use the Institute as our baseline, rather than our Department, as suggested in the FOA?
Answer 8:
Yes, if the organization is structured in separate institutions, then the Baseline Education and Workforce Data can be based on the Institute rather than the Department.
Question 9:
Where are the slides posted from this morning’s session?
Answer 9:
All webinars will be recorded and made available online at www.solar.energy.gov/sunshot/past_workshops.html for the duration of the application period. The webinars are anticipated to be posted the week of March 11th.
Question 10:
I can never find where this project would be a good fit! Maybe you could point me in the right direction?
Answer 10:
Thank you for your interest in the Department of Energy programs. The Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA) posted at the EERE eXCHANGE website is comprehensive and designed to allow prospective applicants to assess their proposed projects versus the requirements and criteria of the FOA. We cannot predetermine the suitability or viability of a proposal in advance of the merit review process. It is up to prospective applicants to review the requirements of the FOA and assess the merits of their proposed project to determine whether to submit an application.
We appreciate your continued pursuit of renewable energy research and development and look forward to assisting you in future inquiries.
Question 11:
We have three Technical Areas of Interest,
· Photovoltaics (Very low-cost module/cell/wafer processes)
· Soft Costs (Innovative business models, such as financial modeling to suggest appropriate)
· Systems Integration (Development of microinverter or “smart” inverter technology)
Should we combine all together in one proposal or should be three different proposals?
Answer 11:
The above Technical Areas of Interest should be submitted as three separate proposals. If they are each smaller efforts, the budgets for each project should reflect it.
Question 12:
I am thinking about proposing a “Solar Certification” which will be based on 12 credit hours, up to 6 of which will be lab/research based and the other six credit hours will be based on course work. The interdisciplinary nature of the certification will allow students from chemistry, computer science, possibly math, and engineering students to seek this certification. Is this an acceptable option under the FOA?
Answer 12:
If the proposed work is responsive to the Educational and Workforce Development Plan requested in the FOA , and if submitted as a Full Application, the project will be evaluated for its merit based on expert review.
Question 13:
We are collaborating with other organizations for the research experience (PV). My question is about the “% of effort contributed by the Lead Organization”. Can it be 60% or does it have to be higher? If it has to be higher, what is that %?
Answer 13:
A majority (>50%) of the work and budget needs to be conducted at an MSI.
Question 14:
We just achieved designation as an emerging minority serving institution under Title III and Title V of the HEA. We would like to submit an application to this FOA; however, the list provided in the FOA only includes those institutions designated as minority serving since 2007 (historically minority serving). May we still apply though we won’t be on the list?
Answer 14:
DOE is currently considering expanding the eligibility criteria to submit an application under the DISTANCE SOLAR FOA. If the eligibility criteria is revised, an Amendment to the FOA will be published.
Question 15:
We are a Community College. Students typically earn Associate Degrees and do not engage in innovative research. A potential sub-recipient, however, does engage in the type of research that is suggested by the grant and we plan to work together to provide research opportunities at the sub-recipient’s research labs to Engineering students at the beginning of their college career. We will work to create an educational pathway to graduate studies in solar innovations.
The grant document does not state that eligibility is restricted to 4 year MSIs, however, there is no mention of 2 year colleges, for example, on page 38 under “Institution type”. If we are eligible, I would assume we would need to provide details about the sub-recipient’s past/current students who conducted research in their PI’s lab.
Answer 15:
If the eligibility criteria in Section III.A. of the FOA is satisfied, 2 year MSI’s may submit an application to the DISTANCE SOLAR FOA.
Question 16:
The concept paper requires the portion of “effort” to be done by the lead institution. Is this essentially the fraction of funding to be allocated to the lead institution?
Answer 16:
A majority (>50%) of the work and budget needs to be conducted at an MSI.
Question 17:
If there is an incremental change in this value in the final proposal, is such permissible?
Answer 17:
Yes, an incremental difference between the value proposed in the Concept Paper and the value proposed in the Full Application is acceptable.
Question 18:
The lead MSI has networked with multiple strategic partners, some of which would be subrecipients/subawardees. Accordingly, is there a minimum portion of funding/effort that should be directly associated with the lead MSI’s activities (i.e., and not subcontracted)?
Answer 18:
A majority (>50%) of the work and budget needs to be conducted at an MSI.
Question 19:
I have an area of research that is a great fit for the DOE solicitation DE-FOA-0000857: (DISTANCE-Solar), but my university is not a Minority Servicing Institution.
Since I can’t be a prime recipient, can you please offer guidance on eligible prime recipients I can collaborate with as a sub-recipient, besides universities (e.g., non-profits, for-profits, national labs)?
Answer 19:
As stated in Section III.A.1 of the funding opportunity announcement eligibility for award as a prime recipient is restricted to accredited, domestic colleges and universities defined as Minority Servicing Institutions (Section § 365(3) the Higher Education Act (HEA) (20 U.S.C. 1067k(3))). The list of eligible Minority Serving Institutions can be found at: http://www.ed.gov/about/offices/list/ocr/edlite-minorityinst-list-tab.html.
Question 20:
Can we propose work on more than subtopic or “subarea” within a given topic area (e.g., work relevant to more than one of the bulleted research interests under a given category); as long as there is one predominant subtopic/subarea that’s emphasized?
Answer 20:
A single concept, as the focus of the Solar Technical Research Plan is requested, is in order to define a distinct and cohesive project. If related aspects of a project can be rolled into a go/no go decision point and final deliverables that define the interim and final success of the whole project, respectively, then the spirit of providing a single concept with a cohesive project will likely be met.
Question 21:
Especially since it’s emphasized that a large portion of the Technical Volume should be associated with the Educ. Workplan, is there a nominal percentage of the 15-pages are they expecting to address this versus the technical scope?
Answer 21:
The Technical Volume should address each of the two equally weighted merit review criteria sufficiently within the 15 page limit.
Question 22:
Our project scope includes an optimization attempt based upon different technology options. One of the technology options that we’re considering, and for which we have expertise, has proven ability to significantly increase (i.e., beyond incremental manner) system performance; but its cost is also significantly larger with greater risk of near-term reduction. Is it appropriate to still include the technology as an alternative for consideration within the overall system optimization scope? This would be along with other alternatives that are of lower cost and performance.
Answer 22:
The research proposed in the Solar Technical Research Plan should have a well-developed rationale for why the work will help advance or exceed the SunShot goals.
Question 23:
Can the Team Management Plan be a purely text-oriented explanation of discretionary format, or is there some graphical illustration or formatting requirement that should be incorporated?
Answer 23:
The Team Management Plan can be text based or have a graphical component.
Question 24:
Is the following relevant to the given solicitation?
“F. Submissions from Successful Applicants
Applicants will have approximately 30 days from receipt of the Concept Paper Encourage/Discourage notification to prepare and submit a Full Application.”
It’s inconsistent with the otherwise-stated timelines and protocol.
Answer 24:
This is an error in the FOA. Applicants will have approximately 6 calendar days from receipt of the Concept Paper Encourage/Discourage notification to prepare and submit a Full Application. Applicants are requested to submit an optional Concept Paper no later than 12:00pm ET, Mar. 18, 2013. Full Applications received from an Applicant who has not submitted a Concept Paper by the deadline will still be reviewed and considered for an award under this FOA.
Question 25:
Collaborations with FFRDC/GOGO National Labs:
*If the GOGO is understood to not have a “contracting officer”, who should be the source of the letter of support? For example, would the office of the Director of R&D at the Natl Lab be appropriate.
Answer 25:
An Authorized Representative of the Federal agency sponsoring the FFRDC or GOGO must authorize in writing the use of the FFRDC or GOGO on the proposed project and this authorization must be submitted with the application. The use of a FFRDC or GOGO must be consistent with its authority under its award.
Question 26:
Is it true that letters of commitment are not needed from subawardees, but are needed from “key participants” that will assist project objectives at no cost?
Answer 26:
Letters of Commitment from the administration of the participating institutions stating commitment to building capacity for solar research and solar academic content is desired under this FOA.
Letters of Commitment from parties participating in the project, exclusive of vendors, who will not be contributing cost share, but will be integral to the success of the project must be included as part of this Appendix to the Narrative.
If applicants have partners or subrecipients providing cost share, please include a letter from each third party contributing cost share (i.e., a party other than the organization submitting the application) stating that the third party is committed to providing a specific minimum dollar amount of cost share. Identify the following information for each third party contributing cost share: (1) the name of the organization; (2) the proposed dollar amount to be provided; (3) the amount as a percentage of the total project cost; and (4) the proposed type of cost share – cash, services, or property.
Please also keep in mind Merit Review Criteria 1, which includes “The perceived commitment of the facility’s administration to increase the representation of members of underrepresented groups in solar technologies as represented in letters of commitment and support. [Information to support this part of the application should be supplied by Letters of Commitment from the administration of the participating institutions stating commitment to building capacity for solar research and solar academic content is desired under the project.]”
Question 27:
A pending GOGO national lab collaboration is not an explicit cost item. The intent is to leverage and benefit from the related facilities and activities that are already supported via the lab’s activity plans. If explicit cost is not a budget item, but the in kind support is not eligible to be considered “cost share”; should we designate the GOGO collaborator(s) as “key participants” based upon the infrastructural and advisory assistance that they will provide?
Answer 27:
DOE/NNSA Federally Funded Research and Development Centers (FFRDCs) and DOE Government-Operated Government-Owned laboratories (GOGOs) are eligible to apply for funding as a subrecipient.
Because FFRDCs and GOGOs are funded by the Federal Government, costs incurred by FFRDCs and GOGOs generally may not be used to meet the cost share requirement. FFRDCs may contribute cost share only if the contributions are paid directly from the contractor’s Management Fee or a non-Federal source.
Question 28:
My former employer has expressed enthusiasm for building solar capacity and I have requested a letter of support from them , however, I am not sure if this will be considered. Please let me know.
Answer 28:
Letters of Commitment from the administration of the participating institutions stating commitment to building capacity for solar research and solar academic content is desired under this FOA. Letters of Commitment from parties participating in the project, exclusive of vendors, who will not be contributing cost share, but will be integral to the success of the project must be included as part of this Appendix to the Narrative.
Question 29:
For baseline information, as I mentioned, I am a new investigator but during my tenure I have worked with interns associated with our PV programs and trained a fair amount of scientists in thin film PV. I am not sure how to present that : via a support letter or simply pointing out in the narrative ?-- your advice will be much appreciated.
Answer 29:
If the applicant has previous relevant experience that would be useful to state as baseline data on workforce development, they are encouraged to provide that in the Technical Volume in the baseline data section.
Question 30:
I have prepared a concept paper (haven't submit it yet) -- the FOA mentioned that there will be 30 days between the concept paper submission and full application but the actual deadlines show only one week in between. If I am submitting the concept paper next week, am I going to receive an encourage/discourage response in time for the full application? (this question was actually suggested by our Office of Sponsored Programs).
Answer 30:
This is an error in the FOA. Applicants will have approximately 6 calendar days from receipt of the Concept Paper Encourage/Discourage notification to prepare and submit a Full Application. Applicants are requested to submit an optional Concept Paper no later than 12:00pm ET, Mar. 18, 2013. Full Applications received from an Applicant who has not submitted a Concept Paper by the deadline will still be reviewed and considered for an award under this FOA.
Question 31:
I have sent the email below a few days ago regarding the webinar and I haven't received a response. Please if possible, let me know if the webinar materials will be available soon and where to find them.
Answer 31:
All webinars will be recorded and made available online at www.solar.energy.gov/sunshot/past_workshops.html for the duration of the application period.
Question 32:
Last but not least, the only contact available for this solicitation is email; is that possible to discuss with the Program Officer, in order to expedite the communication? If so, could you please indicate his/her name and phone number?
Answer 32:
Upon the issuance of a FOA, EERE personnel are prohibited from communicating (in writing or otherwise) with Applicants regarding the FOA except through the established question and answer process as described in the FOA. Specifically, questions regarding the content of this FOA must be submitted to: distancesolar@go.doe.gov not later than 3 business days prior to the full application due date.
Question 33:
Who is the DOE HQ point of contact? What B&R will this be issued from?
Answer 33:
Unfortunately, DE-FOA-0000857, DISTANCE SOLAR, is a competitive solicitation and private discussions, while the announcement is open, are prohibited. All questions regarding this FOA must be submitted through the email address provided in the FOA. All questions asked through this email will be answered through the EERE eXCHANGE system and will be available to all interested parties.
It is anticipated that the B&R code will be made available to selected applicants.
Question 34:
I found a question & answer about the same issue posted in the FAQs for this award that implies the above list may be expanded:
Question 14: We just achieved designation as an emerging minority serving institution under Title III and Title V of the HEA. We would like to submit an application to this FOA; however, the list provided in the FOA only includes those institutions designated as minority serving since 2007 (historically minority serving). May we still apply though we won’t be on the list?
Answer 14:
DOE is currently considering expanding the eligibility criteria to submit an application under the DISTANCE SOLAR FOA. If the eligibility criteria is revised, an Amendment to the FOA will be published.
Has the eligibility criteria been revised?
Answer 34:
An Amendment to the FOA has been posted to revise the eligibility criteria. Please refer to Amendment 001.
Question 35:
I have been searching the grant profiles for personal home owner grants for solar installations....I have not seen any! Are there any out there?
I was told that there are grants every now and then....If the government wants people to try lower sources of energy...why aren’t they making
these more available to the general public? Or at least trying to keep the price down on the solar panels and installation.......
Answer 35:
Thank you for your interest in solar-related funding opportunities.
Unfortunately, the only information we can provide to you is that which is already publicly available. DOE representatives are not able to disclose future Funding Opportunities or plans. Please check the websites below periodically for new Funding Opportunity Announcements (FOAs).
The Department of Energy’s Golden Field Office posts funding opportunity announcements on EERE eXCHANGE at https://eere-exchange.energy.gov, on FedConnect at https://www.fedconnect.net, and on Grants.gov at http://www.grants.gov,. Not all FOAs are available in both the EERE eXCHANGE website and FedConnect, however all FOAs are posted at Grants.gov.
At the eXCHANGE website, simply scroll through the opportunities on the main page.
To view the Golden Field Office’s current opportunities at the FedConnect website, click on “Search Public Opportunities” on the right side of the screen. Under “Search Criteria”, select “Issuing Office”, enter “Golden Field Office”, and then click on “Search” to bring up the list of funding announcements. When you select a particular announcement, there will be a list of documentation on the right side of the screen. Click on any attachment to view it.
At Grants.gov, click on “Find Grant Opportunities”, then choose one of the search options to locate opportunities of interest to your organization
Question 36:
I’m applying for the full proposal under FOA# DE-FOA-0000857, which will be due on 3/25/13 at 12noon, and for some reason, when I click apply, it automatically created the control number for the concept paper instead of the full application.
Can you please advise if there is an application window for the full application? Can you also please advise what will happen to the control number that currently assigned?
Since the PI decided to opt out of submitting the concept paper, we did not submit the concept paper and we did not have the icon for “Create a Full Application for this FOA”. Can you please advise how to apply the full application without submitting the concept paper?
Answer 36:
The EERE exchange system does not work as described in the Funding Opportunity Announcement. You must first submit a Concept Paper in EERRE Exchange in order for the “Create a Full Application” button to appear for this Funding Opportunity. Although the submission of a Concept Paper is optional, you must create a Concept Paper in the EERE Exchange system to be able to create a Full Application. Please create a Concept Paper as soon as possible.
Question 37:
We had submitted the concept paper for FOA# DE-FOA-0000857 and will be submitting the full application.
We would like further clarification on the Budget Justification form. The instructions state “The total budget presented on this form and on the application must include both Federal (DOE), and Non-Federal (cost share) portions, thereby reflecting TOTAL PROJECT COSTS proposed”.
We would like to know if the amount we are cost sharing should be added unto all the tabs that we are cost sharing? For example, we are cost sharing personnel, fringe and indirect cost. Therefore, should the tabs “a. personnel, b. fringe, and i. indirect” reflect both the Federal and Non-Federal portions? Or the Non-Federal portions be reflect only on the “Cost Sharing” tab?
Answer 37:
The individual cost categories should reflect total project costs (Federal and Non-federal Share). Therefore, the tabs “personnel”, “fringe, “indirect”, etc. should include both Federal share and Cost Share. The Cost Share tab should outline the specific cost share amount, source, and type (in-kind or cash).