[Federal Register Volume 67, Number 238 (Wednesday, December 11, 2002)]
[Notices]
[Pages 76168-76169]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 02-31202]


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DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY


National Energy Technology Laboratory; Notice of Availability of 
a Financial Assistance Solicitation

AGENCY: National Energy Technology Laboratory (NETL), Department of 
Energy (DOE).

ACTION: Notice of availability of a financial assistance solicitation.

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SUMMARY: Notice is hereby given of the intent to issue Financial 
Assistance Solicitation No. DE-PS26-03NT41718 entitled ``Large Scale 
Mercury Control Field Testing Program''. The DOE/NETL is seeking 
applications to conduct long-term (minimum of two-to-four months at 
optimum process conditions) field testing of advanced mercury control 
technologies to (1) verify technology performance in terms of total 
(50-80%+ based on coal type, equipment, etc.) and speciated mercury 
removal relative to changes in load and coal-mercury concentration for 
all coal types (including blends) but emphasizing high-elemental, low 
rank coals, (2) determine realistic process/equipment costs for various 
levels of mercury removed for a variety of equipment configurations 
focusing on smaller surface collection area (SCA) electrostatic 
precipitators (SCA <300 ft2/ thousand actual cubic feet of 
flue-gas) for bituminous coals, (3) determine mercury removal levels 
for blends of different rank coals including subbituminous/high-sulfur 
bituminous; (4) quantify balance-of-plant (BOP) impacts such as 
Electro-Static Precipitator (ESP) performance, baghouse performance and 
bag life, byproduct contamination, corrosion, parasitic load, etc.; and 
(5) measure and assess potential multiple pollutant or co-control 
associated with mercury control technology.
    In addition, several semi-continuous emission monitors (S-CEMS) 
would be used to monitor variations in mercury content of flue gas and 
track technology performance while collecting high quality inlet/outlet 
mercury speciation data with Ontario Hydro measurements at the 
beginning, middle and end of each test campaign (plus additional 
measurements as needed to verify S-CEM results). Tests of by-products 
may be limited to characterization tests (foaming index, etc.) but 
collection of enough samples would be obtained for other programs to 
conduct more detailed or extensive tests, and measurement of mercury in 
all streams (including water) to seek closure on mercury balances.

DATES: The solicitation will be available on the DOE/NETL's Internet 
address at http://www.netl.doe.gov/business and on the ``Industry 
Interactive Procurement System'' (IIPS) webpage located at http://e-
center.doe.gov on or about December 30, 2002.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Martin J. Byrnes, U.S. Department of 
Energy, National Energy Technology Laboratory, P.O. Box 10940, MS 921-
107, Pittsburgh, PA 15236, E-mail Address: [email protected], 
Telephone Number: 412-386-4486.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: NETL held two workshops (in June and 
September 2002) with key stakeholders from the utility industry, 
government agencies, research organizations, and academia to obtain 
input on the content and structure of future mercury research and 
development. A summary of the workshop proceedings can be found at 
http://www.netl.doe.gov/coalpower/environment. The workshop 
participants identified a number of different configurations and 
technologies that need further long-term testing.
    In response, DOE-NETL is issuing a solicitation focused on four 
major areas that are expected to be important in developing mercury 
control strategies for the coal-fired electric utility industry and 
help ensure the continued availability of low-cost electricity from 
coal while meeting growing air quality demands. Details concerning the 
solicitation are described below (with allowable scale of testing 
described in Table 1). Topic Area 1 would focus on sorbent injection 
technology, Topic Area 2 would cover technologies aimed at wet flue-gas 
desulfurization enhancement, Topic Area 3 would seek proposals offering 
oxidation systems and Topic Area 4 would allow for any technologies 
ready for long-term field-testing. The solicitation supports the 
overall goal of the Department of Energy/Office of Fossil Energy's 
Innovations for Existing Plants (IEP) Program to develop advanced 
technology and knowledge products that enhance the environmental 
performance of the existing fleet of coal-

[[Page 76169]]

fired power plants. The four Areas of Interest for this solicitation 
are:
    Topic 1: Field Testing of Activated Carbon/Sorbents Upstream/
Downstream of Existing Utility Particulate Control Devices for 
Bituminous and Low Rank Coals (Powder River Basin and Lignite).
    Topic 2: Field Testing of Effective Mercury Control Technologies 
Upstream of and Across Wet Flue Gas Desulfurization Systems.
    Topic 3: Field Testing of Non-Sorbent Based Concepts for Increasing 
the Oxidation of Elemental Mercury for Removal in Downstream Air 
Pollution Control Equipment.
    Topic 4: Other Mercury Control Technologies Ready for Long-Term 
Field-Testing.

                                           Table 1.--Topic Area Matrix
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                                                               Coal type/existing equipment
           Topic area No.                    Topic area                configuration           Scale of testing
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1...................................  Sorbent Injection......  Bituminous--SCA <300 CSESP/   1.
                                                                HSESP Lignite/Sub-
                                                                bituminous--ESP/FF (or
                                                                COHPAC) (no SCA limit) Coal
                                                                Blends--no SCA limit).
2...................................  FGD Enhancement........  All coals types or blends     1.
                                                                with wet FGD..
3...................................  Oxidation Systems......  All coals or blends           1 or 2.
                                                                applicable to plants with
                                                                or without wet FGD.
4...................................  Other..................  All coals individually or     1 or 2.
                                                                blends and all existing
                                                                equipment configurations.
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1. Full-scale (minimum 100 MWe).
2. Slip-stream (minimum 10 MWe).

Scale of Testing

    DOE anticipates allocating $1.5 million or less in cost sharing per 
test site. DOE recognizes that certain mercury control technologies 
proposed for full-scale testing may require significant outlays for 
capital equipment in order to be tested. Given that the funding 
available for this solicitation is limited and is to be used primarily 
for testing and evaluation of the performance of the proposed 
technology and not for the purchase of equipment, DOE is allowing for 
slip-stream testing of technologies under Topic Areas 3 and 4. However, 
if the offeror wants to test at full scale, then they would be required 
to cover the additional costs above DOE threshold of $1.5 million per 
test site (or 75% cost sharing, whichever is less). DOE anticipates 
that funds will be approximately allocated as 2/3 to full-scale testing 
and 1/3 to pilot-scale testing.
    It is anticipated that there will be 9-12 Financial Assistance 
(Cooperative Agreements) awards with performance periods ranging from 
12-42 months. The total estimated Award Value for all projects awarded 
under this solicitation is estimated at $19-$25 million with total 
federal funding anticipated between $15-$20 million with a required 
recipient cost sharing of 25% of total cost.
    Eligibility for participation in this Program Solicitation is 
considered to be full and open. All interested parties may apply. The 
solicitation will contain a complete description of the evaluation 
factors and the relative importance of each factor. Applications 
submitted by or on behalf of (1) Another Federal agency; (2) a 
Federally Funded Research and Development Center sponsored by another 
Federal agency; or (3) a Department of Energy (DOE) Management 
Operating (M&O) contractor will not be eligible for award under this 
solicitation. However, an application that includes performance of a 
portion of the work by a DOE M&O contractor will be evaluated and may 
be considered for award subject to the provisions to be set forth in 
Program Solicitation DE-PS26-03NT41718.
    Once released, the solicitation will be available for downloading 
from the IIPS Internet page. At this Internet site you will also be 
able to register with IIPS, enabling you to submit an application. If 
you need technical assistance in registering or for any other IIPS 
function, call the IIPS Help Desk at (800) 683-0751 or E-mail the Help 
Desk personnel at center.doe.gov">IIPS_HelpDesk@e-center.doe.gov. The solicitation 
will only be made available in IIPS, no hard (paper) copies of the 
solicitation and related documents will be made available.
    Prospective applicants who would like to be notified as soon as the 
solicitation is available should subscribe to the Business Alert 
Mailing List at http://www.netl.doe.gov/business. Once you subscribe, 
you will receive an announcement by E-mail that the solicitation has 
been released to the public. Telephone requests, written requests, E-
mail requests, or facsimile requests for a copy of the solicitation 
package will not be accepted and/or honored. Applications must be 
prepared and submitted in accordance with the instructions and forms 
contained in the solicitation. The actual solicitation document will 
allow for requests for explanation and/or interpretation.

    Issued in Pittsburgh, PA November 28, 2002.
Richard D. Rogus,
Acting Director, Acquisition and Assistance Division.
[FR Doc. 02-31202 Filed 12-10-02; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6450-01-P