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["INSTRUCTIONS"]
[1,"All questions pertaining to this funding opportunity announcement should be emailed to SI.FOA.SETO@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-FOA0001987 -  Solar Systems Integration Technologies Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA) "]
["Question #","Date Submitted","Topic","Question","Answer"]
[1,"2018-10-15","Registration Requirements","When must our DUNS number registered?","An Applicant must have their DUNS number registered and active in www.SAM.gov prior to the closing of the FOA.  If an applicant it found to not have a valid or active DUNS number this could jeopardize any potential selection."]
[2,"2018-10-16","Technical Topics","Would energy storage be considered for this FOA, as a means to enhance solar resiliency?","Please see Section I.B. of the FOA for Topic Areas/Technical Areas of Interest."]
[3,"2018-10-16","Eligibility","For DE-FOA-0001987, can any entity or organization make application or must you already have a partner who is operating a grid?  If you must have a partner would you have any advice on how to seek them out?  ","Please see Section III.A of the FOA for Eligible Applicants."]
[4,"2018-10-23","Application Content/Format","When submitting a letter of intent to the solicitation DE-FOA-0001987 a required field is “Whether the Application has been previously submitted to EERE;”. If this application was submitted in July to the original call, should this question be answered yes?","Please see Section IV.B.i of the FOA for LOI content."]
[5,"2018-10-25","Technical Topics","In the referenced FOA, the phrase 'critical infrastructure' is used multiple times, generally as the main target of the work.  Could we please have a definition, including several examples?","Please refer them to the 1st sentence from topic 1.1 “Situational awareness of solar photovoltaic (PV) systems in strategic locations is vital to managing risk and strengthening the security and resilience of the Nation's critical infrastructure (e.g., for safety, public health and national security)”\n\nCritical infrastructure is required to support critical loads (i.e. hospitals, shelters, communication, water facilities, etc.) that must be served during an disaster event. There are 16 critical infrastructure sectors (as defined by DHS https://www.dhs.gov/critical-infrastructure-sectors) and solar can support any of these 16 sectors. It is upon the applicant to define how their solution will provide support."]
[6,"2018-10-26","Technical Topics","Will this FOA accept early stage research & development solutions?","Please see Section I.B. of the FOA for Topic Areas/Technical Areas of Intrest."]
[7,"2018-10-26","Cost Sharing","Are we eligible for applying to the FOA if we currently don't have any funds for meeting the 20% cost share requirement?","Please see Section III.B of the FOA regarding Cost Sharing requirements."]
[8,"2018-10-29","Cost Sharing","If we are going to count a state grant as cost-share, can we also include as cost share third party private cost share (cash or in-kind contributions) that was pledged for that state grant?","Please see Section III.B of the FOA regarding Cost Sharing requirements."]
[9,"2018-11-01","Technical Topics","While the FOA alludes to this, grid edge observability has not been explicitly mentioned. We want to make sure that this is still an area of interest to this FOA?","Please see Section I.B. of the FOA for Topic Areas/Technical Areas of Intrest."]
[10,"2018-11-01","Eligibility","Will the email addresses of those how attended today’s webinar for this FOA be made available to foster team development and collaboration?","Please see Section VIII.O of the FOA for Personnal Identifiable Information."]
[11,"2018-11-01","Technical Topics","Can this funding be used for a public school solar project estimated?","Please see Section I.B. of the FOA for Topic Areas/Technical Areas of Intrest."]
[12,"2018-11-01","Application Content/Format","Is the LOI an accept/reject process or can the LOIs can be revised after the DOE’s decision?","Please see Section IV.B.i of the FOA for LOI content."]
[13,"2018-11-01","Application Content/Format","Can a LOI include both TOPIC 1.1 and TOPIC 1.2 together? Or only should cover one?","Please see Section IV.B.i of the FOA for LOI content."]
[14,"2018-11-01","Application Content/Format","Are Letters of Intent public, or may they be marked \"proprietary\" or \"confidential\"?","Please see Section IV.B.i of the FOA for LOI content."]
[15,"2018-11-01","Webinar","Will these slides be made available after the webinar?","Yes"]
[16,"2018-11-01","Application Content/Format","Which has a 20-page limit - the full application or the Technical Volume section?","Please see Section IV.B.iii of the FOA for Full Application Content."]
[17,"2018-11-01","Application Content/Format","For the replies to reviewer comments, are there specific margins/font/font size that are required, additional to the page requirement? ","Yes"]
[18,"2018-11-01","Technical Topics","For topic area 1.1: Is the situtation awareness of solar tied to both resiliency and cyber security, or can an applicant focus on either resilience or cyber security?","Please see Section I.B. of the FOA for Topic Areas/Technical Areas of Intrest."]
[19,"2018-11-02","Application Content/Format","Is there any template for the LOI?","Please see Section IV.B.i of the FOA for LOI content."]
[20,"2018-11-06","Cost Sharing","A utility partner in our team wants to know:\n\nFor the Topic 1.2 project with field demonstration in year 3, \n- If truck tolls to install sensors are eligible for cost share?\n- if installation of intra-grid sensors from vendor to capture unique DER data are eligible for (say, 50%) cost share? ","Please see Section III.B.iii regarding cost share types and allowability.  In addition please review the corresponding cost principles regarding cost allowability."]
[21,"2018-11-07","Technical Topics","I am planning to submit an LOI for this FOA, however after reading the FOA several times including Section B - Topic Areas/Technical Areas of Interest,  it is still unclear to me whether my project proposal aligns with the intent of this funding opportunity. I have included a very brief description of my project proposal below. Would someone from DOE be able to respond to me regarding whether this project proposal aligns with the intent and area of interest for this FOA?","Please see Section VII of the FOA regarding Agency Contact.  Please note DOE CANNOT provide any pre-reviews or respond to questions specifically about an application idea while the FOA is open."]
[22,"2018-11-09","Application Content/Format","I was wondering if it is feasible to change the Lead Organization that submits the final grant proposal from the one listed on the LOI (as the Lead Organization) to a listed Team Member in the LOI?","Yes, but all rules of the FOA regarding Elibility, Cost Share, etc. must be followed.  Teams can be restructured until the time the Full Application is submitted."]
[23,"2018-11-12","Application Content/Format","The Letter of Intent requires identification of the FOA Subtopic Area. Can the subtopic area be changed in the Full Application from what was identified in the Letter of Intent?","Yes."]
[24,"2018-11-12","Application Content/Format","We are preparing a response to the subject funding call (DE-FOA-0001987).  I have downloaded the proposal preparation materials, and in our project plan we are expecting to propose 4 phases/budget periods in the 3-year project period.  In the form, it instructs me to contact the \"EERE Contact before adding budget periods\".  ","Please see Section VII of the FOA regarding Agency Contact. "]
[25,"2018-11-13","Application Content/Format","In reading the guidance documents, I am unclear on the difference between the separated SOPO and SOPO included in the technical volume. This information is discussed on P28, under the item “Workplan and Technology Transition Plan.” ","The Workplan should include a summary of the Project Objectives, Technical Scope, Work Breakdown Structure, Milestones, Go/No-Go Decision Points, and Project Schedule.  A detailed Statement of Project Objectives (SOPO) is separately requested. "]
[26,"2018-11-08","Cost Sharing","Given the timeline needed for installation in the field, can Phase 2 begin prior to the end of Phase 1 in order to achieve a full year of field testing and validation before the end of the grant period in year three?  ","A recipient may submit their proposal as they see fit.  If selected for award negotiations a project may need to be adjusted, and is subject to cost share based on the type of activities taking place regardless of phase.  Further, the project timelines stated in the FOA are only guidelines.  If an applicant foresees projects extending beyond three years, this should also be included in the application  "]
[27,"2018-11-08","Cost Sharing","Does cost sharing need to be applied to the phases separately or can a larger Phase 2 cost share be applied across the entirety of the project budget? ","Cost share will be evaluated based on tasks being performed within the Statement of Project Objectives.  DOE reserves the right to make a final determination on whether a task is deemed R&D (20%) or Demonstration/Field Validation (50%.).  Applicants are free to offer a higher cost share than required for any or all proposed activities."]
[28,"2018-11-08","Cost Sharing","Do the cost share percentages apply to each topic (R&D or Field Validation) separately or together. For instance: if at the beginning of the project 90% of the costs are R&D does a blended cost share apply to all costs, R&D and Field Validation, or does the 20% cost share apply to R&D costs whenever they are incurred and the 50% cost share applies whenever field validation costs are incurred?  ","Cost share will be determined once a Statement of Project Objectives is negotiated, and tasks can be evaluated for the nature of work being performed.  Typically during award negotiation a blended cost share rate is established either for the entire project or for individual phases based on the rates for the tasks within the phase.  Once a cost share rate is established, all tasks within the entire project or within an individual phase are all cost shared at that rate.  DOE shall make the final determination as to the required cost share for any specific task."]
[29,"2018-11-16","Application Content/Format","Should two EERE Budget Justification forms be submitted for this proposal?  One for Phase 1 and one for Phase 2?","One budget justification document should be submitted covering the entire prorject.  If sub-recipients meet the criteria in IV.B.viii, a sub budget must be submitted."]
[30,"2018-11-19","Application Content/Format","There is a 1-page limit for Letters of Commitment from partners/end users (pg. 31) however, there is no clarification regarding page limit for Letters of Commitment from all Subrecipient/third party cost-share providers (pg. 30).  Can you please clarify if it is a 1-page limit for all letters or if there is a difference depending on the type of commitment?  ","Attach any letters of commitment from partners/end users as an appendix (1 page maximum per letter).  Letters of commitment do not count towards the page limit."]
[31,"2018-11-19","Eligibility","1. Our principal investigator is not a U.S. citizen but is receiving permanent residence soon. However, the prime recipient in our application (Nikola Power) is U.S. incorporated. \nIs a Foreign Entity waiver required for the principal investigator? \n\n2. Does the term \"foreign entity\" refer to a corporation or does it refer to an individual? Please provide examples. ","Please Section III.A of the FOA."]
[32,"2018-11-20","Due Dates","We wanted to see what the timeline was for hearing back from the merit review team and if our LOI has been accepted or not and if we can begin developing the full application.  ","Please see the Schedule list on Page 1 of the FOA."]
[32,"2018-11-19","Cost Sharing","Appendix B describes Project Tasks related to “Outreach”  -- can you please define Outreach- there is no other area in the FOA that I could find describing those sorts of activities?","Proposed work under this FOA is expectd to be R&D, with potential for Demonstration/Deployment in Phase 3 of the project.  As noted in Section III.B of the FOA Cost Sharing will being either 20% or 50% depending on the proposed scope of work.  As noted above DOE shall make the final determination as to the required cost share for any specific task."]
[33,"2018-11-20","Labs/FFRDCs","We are submitting a proposal to DE-FOA-0001987. Our project team has an FFRDC as a member to perform 32% of the work (their portion is also over $250k). \nSince it is over $250k and 25%, is the Field Work Proposal sufficient for the FFRDC's budget? Do they also need to provide the separate budget justification, EERE 335?","Please see Section IV.B.ix of the FOA regarding FFRDC documentation and budgets."]
[34,"2018-11-21","Cost Sharing","If a subrecipient of our project team provides batteries at their cost, is that an allowable cost share contribution?","Please see Section III.B.iii regarding cost share types and allowability.  In addition please review the corresponding cost principles regarding cost allowability."]
[35,"2018-11-21","Cost Sharing","As an institution of higher education are we still required to cost share with the recent signing of the DOE Research and Innovation Act (Public Law No: 115-246)?  ","Please see Section III.B of the FOA regarding Cost Sharing requirements."]
[36,"2018-11-21","Cost Sharing","Is a cost share commitment letter separate from the general letter of commitment? Does cost share percentage/total need to be included in each letter of commitment from subrecipients/third party entities?  ","A cost share commitment letter will contain a financial amount to be included as part of the project, and should represent an actual commitment to expend the amount of funds listed and participate in the award if the application is selected.  The amount of funding stated in the letter of commitment should be reflected in the budget.  Letters of support may be included with an application, but do not represent any financial commitment to the project."]
[37,"2018-11-27","Application Reviews","Where can we access a list of previous winners and project descriptions to assist in our research?","Any request for this type of information will require a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request https://www.energy.gov/management/office-management/operational-management/freedom-information-act"]
[38,"2018-11-27","Cost Sharing","Can matching funds be retroactive (already spent) or must they be spent after the grant is funded?","Please see Section III.B.iii regarding cost share types and allowability.  In addition please review the corresponding cost principles regarding cost allowability."]
[39,"2018-11-27","Eligibility","May we speak to you on the phone? We tried reaching you at XXX-XXX-XXXX but got no response. Could you please direct us to the correct person for answering questions related to this project?","Please see Section VII of the FOA regarding contact with DOE while the FOA is open."]
[40,"2018-11-28","Cost Sharing","I am working with a commercial company,  and they are willing to support the project by providing necessary equipment at no cost to us.\nHow do I roll it in into the budget so it is considered \"allowable\"? I would think that this is a cash contribution.  ","Please see Appendix A for additional information on Costs Sharing  and review all of the  General Cost Sharing Rules on a DOE award."]
[41,"2018-11-28","Due Dates","We’d like to know if it is possible to extend the due date for 1 week to 12/14. ","The FOA due date will not be extended."]
[42,"2018-11-29","Application Content/Format","Could a construction budget justification for future supplier/contractors be deferred until a Go/No-Go Milestone (pending DOE’s review and approval)? ","An undefined sub-recipient could be defined using a TBD, and could submit at a later date, but would be subject to restrictions until they are defined."]
[43,"2018-11-29","Technical Topics","Our scope has elements of Cybersecurity planning and a Data Management Plan that may need to be confidential in nature. Please advise how to approach this portion of the application.","Please see VIII.D of the FOA located on page 57.  Any confidential information in accordance with the instructions contained in the FOA should be marked as such."]
[44,"2018-11-28","Technical Topics","You mention on p.9 the anticipated focus and required cost share by phase for each topic.  For topic 1.2, is it acceptable for an applicant to propose that field validation and phase 2 efforts to begin sooner than year 3, for example sometime in year 2? ","The project length of up to 36 months with an anticipated year 3 for field validation is a guideline for applications. If a compelling reason for a different timeline is given, we will consider it in review."]
[45,"2018-11-30","Cost Sharing","We have offers from two third-parties to contribute 100% cost share in the form of a FTE and/or facilities. With 100% cost share of labor and/or facilities, would we be required to flow down DOE terms and conditions in the event of an award to our institution? Is any proposal documentation required for these third parties beyond letters of commitment and a breakdown of the cost share in our budget?","Please see Section III.B.iii regarding cost share types and allowability.  "]
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{"sheet":"Admin Pick List","index":2,"n_rows":15,"n_cols":1,"rows_kept":15,"cut":false,"hidden":true,"merged":[]}
["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"]