Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency Technologies Grant Program Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) March 5, 2018 (1) The solicitation specifies that "An eligible applicant can submit only one application for funding". In the case of Universities, does this restriction apply to the entire University or perhaps to Colleges/Departments? Answer: An eligible applicant can submit only one application for funding under this NOFA. A university is considered an applicant for the purposes of this NOFA and therefore only one application can be submitted per university or state college, including individual colleges, schools, or centers within a university. If multiple applications are submitted by an entity, only the first date/time stamped application will be considered. If multiple applications are submitted in the same package, the entire package will be rejected. (2) How is "bioenergy" defined in this solicitation? Is it intended to include both renewable power and renewable fuels? Answer: Bioenergy (biomass) means an energy source (power or fuel) that is comprised of, but not limited to, combustible residues or gases from forest products manufacturing, waste, byproducts, or products from agricultural and orchard crops, waste or co-products from livestock and poultry operations, waste or byproducts from food processing, urban wood waste, municipal solid waste, municipal liquid waste treatment operations, and landfill gas. Examples of projects that would be eligible under this grant program include, but are not limited to bioenergy distribution technologies, new techniques to capture and use landfill gas, innovative renewable technologies that utilize biomass to generate electricity or produce fuel. (3) Do applications have to be mailed at the address provided? Can they be faxed or emailed? Answer: One (1) clearly marked original and three (3) additional hard copies (that will not be returned to the applicant), and all supplemental materials, must be submitted by certified mail or hand delivery by the application due date to the address listed in the General Questions section. (4) Please provide an example of cost share calculation. Answer: If the applicant requests $100,000 than the applicant is obligated to provide a minimum of $20,000 in matching contribution to be eligible. Matching contribution above $20,000 would increase the applicant score in accordance with Part III.D. of the NOFA. (5) I assume commercial building does not include multi-family rental, correct? Answer: Yes this does include multifamily housing if the project falls within the scope of the program (i.e. demonstration, commercialization, research, and development). (6) The grant notice is not specific to whether a Florida Public School District is eligible to apply for this grant. Would you be so kind to let me know if such an application from our school district would be considered. 1
Answer: For the purposes of this Notice, a Florida Public School District would be considered a unit of county government and therefore eligible to apply for funding. Please note, the Renewable Energy and (7) We would like to know if public transit agencies are eligible to apply under this funding program. Answer: For the purposes of this Notice, public transit agencies/authorities are considered local government entities and therefore eligible to apply for funding. Please note, the Renewable Energy and (8) Our Clean Cities coalition is hosted by the University of Central Florida. UCF provides office space, payroll services, etc. under their 49% indirect rate but provides no other funding or support. As an independent non-profit are we eligible to apply for a REET Grant or are we considered part of the university? Answer: For the purposes of this Notice, a Clean Cities Coalition would be considered a non-for-profit organization and therefore eligible to apply for funding. Please note, the Renewable Energy and Energy Efficient Technologies (REET) funding can only be used for demonstration, commercialization, research, and development projects. (9) I have an agricultural project (vertical farm) in South Florida and would like to seek for alternative energy solutions. Would you be able to assist? Answer: Projects must include an innovative new technology or an innovative application of an existing technology. Only research, development, and commercialization of renewable energy technologies and energy efficient technologies that significantly increase energy efficiency for vehicles and commercial buildings are eligible for funding under this program. (10) I am interested in NOFA regarding Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency Technologies Grant Program issued on January 12, 2018. Do you have a sample proposal or instruction on proposal structure to share? Answer: There are no sample proposals for this program. Applications will be scored utilizing the evaluation criteria in the NOFA. Instructions for completion are included within the NOFA and application form, which is contained in Attachment A of the NOFA. (11) Is the School District of Osceola County (K-12) eligible for this grant? We noticed past winners were higher education. Answer: For the purposes of this Notice, a Florida Public School District would be considered a unit of county government and therefore eligible to apply for funding. Please note, the Renewable Energy and 2
(12) We are currently working with an A&E firm to design and build a net-zero energy high school, would this project itself qualify, or should we be focusing on one design element or technology (ie. Solar)? We are trying to gauge the risk in applying since we will need to have the A&E firm spend some hours helping us put together the grant application. Answer: Due to the competitive nature of the REET Grant Program, the Department cannot provide comments on potential projects that may be submitted for funding. Examples of projects that would be eligible under this grant program include: Research, development, and commercialization of renewable energy technologies such as advanced solar technologies, ocean energy, or bioenergy. Research, development, and commercialization of energy efficient technologies that significantly increase energy efficiency for vehicles and commercial buildings. Projects could include energy distribution technologies, new techniques to capture and use landfill gas, innovative onsite (buildings) renewable technology that generates electricity, new lighting technologies, design and development of prototypes for renewable energy storage. (13) The sustainability manager and I have a few ideas to use this program to fund solar panels and battery charging stations on some public buildings, and we wanted to make sure that it would be appropriate for us to apply for. I noticed that last year, each of the awardees was part of a university system, and was wondering if there was something that we were missing in the application that precluded municipalities from applying. R&D seems like a large component of this grant, but because we are a city government, our capacity to engage in research is nothing like a university. Answer: A city government is considered an eligible applicant provided the project falls within the scope of the program (i.e. demonstration, commercialization, research, and development). Qualified applicants are those applicants identified in Section 377.804(2), F.S., and State of Florida entities that are licensed to do business in the state and have a physical presence in the State of Florida. Qualified applicants include: Municipalities and county governments; Established for-profit companies licensed to do business in the state; Universities and colleges in the state; Utilities located and operating within the state; and Not-for-profit organizations licensed to do business in the state. (14) When is the anticipated announcement date of award from this NOFA? Answer: It is anticipated that the announcement date of awards will be mid-april 2018. 3
(15) From the announcement date, how long would it take to receive the agreement in order for the project to start? Answer: Department staff shall conduct site visits prior to awards, which may affect the timeline for execution of the grant agreements. The Department anticipates agreements to be executed within 45 days of announcement of award. (16) Can the period of performance, two years, be extended based on the project schedule vs. actual? As a R&D, there could be variables that may require extension. Answer: Grant agreements shall be limited to no longer than two (2) years in duration. Extensions shall be determined by the Department on a case-by-case basis, and are not guaranteed. (17) If a university is not the applicant but is a critical project team member, does this qualify for the extra points? Answer: Eligible proposals will be scored utilizing the Application Evaluation Criteria in the notice. Applicants that are Florida Public Universities and Colleges may receive a maximum of ten (10) points. There are no extra points for having a university as a project team member. (18) Where in the website, can we find copies of awarded proposals? Answer: Copies of awarded proposals are not posted on the Department website. They may be obtained by submitting a public record request. Please note there may be additional fees associated with the request based on administrative and printing costs. (19) After reviewing the guidelines, I did not see an anticipated start date to use when calculating the budget. Can you please let us know what start date we should use when preparing our budget? Answer: The department cannot provide an exact start date for approved projects. The start date will be based on the several factors including the negotiation period, site visits (if applicable), and the scope of work proposed. (20) Does it count towards the one application per applicant limit if my entity is part of an application (subcontractor) but not the primary submitting applicant? Answer: No, only the primary entity submitting the application counts toward the one application per applicant. There are no limits or restrictions on who can serve as a subrecipient or subcontractor to an applicant. (21) Besides the page limit for each section, should the font size be at least of a certain size? Answer: There is no font size requirement, however, the application text should be legible. (22) Should/may we attach the cv of the PI (and co-pis)? If yes, is there a length limit? 4
Answer: Curriculum vitae (CV) or resumes are not required, however under Section E. 7. Project Management, applications must include information about individuals working on the project and their experience as it relates to the successful completion of the proposed project. (23) In the notice for the 2018 REET, the following language is included in Part II, page 6: Projects that are currently funded via past Renewable Energy and Energy Efficient Technologies programs are not eligible to apply under this NOFA. How are projects defined in that context? Recipients, specific project scopes, project themes, or other? Answer: The project will be reviewed on a case by case basis. However, some guidelines to consider would be the similarity between the two projects tasks, goals, and outcomes. Applications cannot include any duplication in the scope of work or project activities that are being funded under a previous REET Program. 5