Federal Cost Share for Low-Carbon Fuel Research and Development

GFO-16-307

Federal Cost Share for Low-Carbon Fuel Research and Development

California Energy Commission

Pre-Application Workshop: August 29, 2016

Pre-Application Questions, Answers, and Clarifications

State of California

California Energy Commission

Administrative

1. Q:When will the letters of intent be provided?

A:The Energy Commission plans to provide letters of intent no later than Monday, September 26, 2016 to all applicants that receive a passing score.

1. Q:Would you be able to share the language of the Letter of Intent that will be provided to successful applicants moving on to the next phase of this opportunity?

A: Please see Appendix A for a general example of a letter of intent.

Funding Qualification

1. Q:DE-FOA-001232: Project Development for Pilot Scale Manufacturing of Biofuels, Bioproducts and Biopower includes projects that do not qualify under this solicitation. Was the Energy Commissions seeking proposals for all projects under DE-FOA-001232, or just the projects that meet this solicitation’s requirement? For example, there are two biomethane for electricity from waste that were asked for full proposals under Category 3 of FOA-0001232, but by the more limiting criteria in GFO-16-307 are not eligible for state cost share.

A: While DE-FOA-001232 may include a wider scope of eligible projects, the Energy Commission Solicitation (GFO-16-307) has a more narrow scope and all projects under the Federal FOA may not be eligible for funding under this solicitation that are eligible. Please refer to the eligible projects section for eligibility.

1. Q:Power-to-gas projects are included in this solicitation’s eligible projects; however, do not qualify under any Federal Funding Opportunity Announcements (FOAs). Can power-to-gas projects still apply?

A:No.Currently there are no Federal FOAs on the list that are consistent with Power-to-gas technology development and demonstration. As stated in the solicitation, it is the Energy Commission’s intent to add applicable FOAs to Table 1 as they become available.

1. Q:I just came across the Federal Cost Share grant opportunity 00_GFO-16-307. It states that only the FOAs listed in Table 1 are eligible for the grant and in Section II B the project must fall under, for example, “power to gas demonstration to produce renewable hydrogen.” We have a system to meet the requirements of this category, however the FOAs are only applicable to bioenergy and biofuels. Does the CEC anticipate any FOAs or other California state funding for this topic?

A:At this time, only the FOAs listed in the solicitation are eligible for federal cost share.However eligible FOAs will be added to the list as opportunities are posted. If you become aware of a FOA that appears to be aligned with the areas described in the solicitation, please feel free to bring that to the attention of the Energy Commission and we will take it under consideration.

1. Q:Since there are no active FOAs that include funding for power-to-gas projects, does theSeptember 19th application due date still apply?

A:No, the September 19 deadline applies only to the two FOAs listed in the solicitation. The Energy Commission will include an updated Key Activities Schedule for any new FOAs added to the list pending funding availability.

1. Q:Please provide a definition for drop-in biofuels.

A:The Department of Energy defines drop-in biofuels as: “Fuels produced from biomass sources through a variety of biological and thermochemical processes. These products are similar to petroleum gasoline, diesel, or jet fuel in chemical makeup and are therefore considered fully infrastructure-compatible fuels. They can be used in vehicles without engine modifications and can utilize existing petroleum distribution systems.[1]” To meet the Federal FOA requirements, applicants will be eligible based on this definition.

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