[Federal Register Volume 73, Number 22 (Friday, February 1, 2008)]
[Notices]
[Pages 6172-6173]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E8-1919]


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DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY

Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy


Notice of Opportunity for Technical Assistance (NOTA)--DE-PS36-
08GO98011, Solar America Initiative (SAI) Market Transformation: Solar 
America Showcases, FY 2008

AGENCY: Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy, Department of 
Energy (DOE).
SUMMARY: The Department of Energy (DOE) is accepting requests for 
Technical Assistance for large-scale, high-visibility solar 
installation projects that have the ability to impact the market for 
solar technologies through large project size, use of a novel solar 
technology, and/or use of a novel application for a solar technology. 
In addition, it is desired that the project be replicable or have 
replicable components. It is not expected that all projects will meet 
all of these parameters, but projects would ideally reflect some or 
most of these qualities. Large-scale installations may include 
photovoltaic, concentrating solar power, solar water heating, and solar 
space heating applications. Technical assistance will not be provided 
for research, product development, or early stage testing and 
evaluation of any technology or product. Solar America Showcases focus 
on providing support to projects in which a commercially-ready 
technology is to be installed in a large-scale application with full 
financial project commitment already in place.
    Any legal entity, to include private sector for-profit and non-
profit organizations, State and local governments, and trade and other 
associations may request DOE Technical Assistance under this Notice, so 
long as the installation proposed by the organization, and for which 
the Technical Assistance will be provided, is located in the United 
States. Federal agencies are not permitted to request Technical 
Assistance under this Notice. Federally Funded Research and Development 
Center (FFRDC) Contractors may not submit a request for Technical 
Assistance, may not participate as a team partner with any entity 
requesting Technical Assistance, and may not assist any entity with 
their submission of a request for Technical Assistance under this 
Notice. Nonprofit organizations described in section 501(c)(4) of the 
Internal Revenue Code of 1986 that engaged in lobbying activities after 
December 31, 1995 are not permitted to submit a request for Technical 
Assistance under this Notice.
    Technical Assistance described under this Notice will be provided 
via a Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) between DOE, the organization 
selected to receive the Technical Assistance, and the Technical 
Assistance Team Leader responsible for providing the Technical 
Assistance. A MOA is a collaborative agreement between the Federal 
Government and other parties to work together on a mutually beneficial 
activity. The MOA will detail the scope of the Technical Assistance 
activities, the forms of collaboration, the responsibilities of the 
partners to the Agreement, and the treatment of any potential 
intellectual property. Federal funding will not be provided to a 
partner under a MOA.

DATES: Requests for Technical Assistance must be submitted via the DOE 
Industry Interactive Procurement System (IIPS) Web site at http://e-center.doe.gov/ by 03/12/2008 and 06/12/2008.

ADDRESSES: Note that this posting in the Federal Register is not the 
full announcement. Interested parties must download and follow the 
instructions in the full announcement which is available on the DOE 
Industry Interactive Procurement System (IIPS) website. To locate the 
full Announcement, go to http://e-center.doe.gov/, click on ``Browse 
Opportunities'', scroll down to view DOE Financial Assistance 
Opportunities (Viewing ``Opportunities by Contracting Activity'' is

[[Page 6173]]

recommended.) Click on the ``Browse Financial Asst.'' button. Click on 
the folder (or blue arrow depending on your server) next to the 
``Golden Field Office''. Locate and click on Announcement No. DE-PS36-
08GO98011, Solar America Initiative (SAI) Market Transformation: Solar 
America Showcases, FY2008. IMPORTANT: Scroll to the bottom of the page, 
where you will find the ``Full Announcement & Other Files.''

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Questions regarding the content of the 
full announcement must be submitted through the ``Submit Question'' 
feature in the DOE Industry Interactive Procurement System (IIPS) at 
http://e-center.doe.gov. Locate the full announcement (as identified 
under ``Addresses'') and then click on the ``Submit Question'' button. 
Enter required information. You will receive an electronic notification 
that your question has been answered. DOE will try to respond to a 
question within 3 business days, unless a similar question and answer 
have already been posted on the website. All questions must be 
submitted no later than one week prior to the closing date. Please 
contact the IIPS Help Desk at 1-800-683-0751 (select Option 1) or at 
[email protected] for questions regarding the operation of IIPS.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: To provide more guidance as to the types of 
installations DOE is looking to support, additional information is 
provided below on the parameters for (and examples of) projects for 
which DOE anticipates receiving requests for Technical Assistance under 
this Notice.
    Regarding the scale of the project, DOE is looking for projects 
with total capacity in excess of 100 kW. Projects may include multiple 
sites, and do not have to be co-located. In addition to the initial 
installation, the kW total may also include planned follow-on 
activities (direct replication efforts). Examples include installations 
in residential subdivisions, shopping centers, office buildings or 
parks, big box retail locations, factories, and utility solar 
production.
    Regarding the visibility of the project, DOE anticipates projects 
that are centrally located in towns, are sited near highly trafficked 
vehicle or pedestrian areas, house hundreds of residents or workers, 
are a part of an area frequented by tourists, are part of a popular 
public destination (e.g. shopping centers, courthouses, etc.) or have 
some other high visibility component. The project would also have an 
outreach component that provides information about the installation.
    Regarding the novel solar technology, DOE proposes to support 
projects that introduce new solar technologies that hold the promise of 
reducing initial costs, simplifying installation, and boosting consumer 
confidence, but which have little testing to date that demonstrates 
such improvements. Examples include new cell or module technology, new 
materials, or innovative installation and mounting techniques. By 
offering Technical Assistance, DOE envisions helping these new solar 
technologies develop a performance record in the marketplace, identify 
technical problems early in mass product releases, and devise solutions 
and alternatives that move specific solar technologies to cost-
competitiveness by 2015.
    Regarding the novel solar application, DOE expects to support 
projects that utilize solar technology in new ways. One example would 
be to include new methods of building integration beyond traditional 
roof-mounted modules. DOE also supports innovative designs and methods 
that open up previously untapped markets or end uses to solar 
technology adoption. Acceptable Solar Applications could also include 
those that are currently in use in other geographic areas, but not in 
the vicinity (State, region) of the proposed site.
    Regarding replicability, DOE expects to support projects that can 
either be replicated by the entity requesting the Technical Assistance 
or by others. The entire project should be replicable, or have 
replicable components, unless installations are of an extremely large 
size that justifies DOE support without replicability. Replication of 
projects is a critical component to advance solar commercialization.
    To improve the overall impact of the project, teaming by the 
entities requesting the Technical Assistance under this Notice with 
other relevant stakeholders is encouraged. DOE also encourages 
incorporating energy efficiency measures with solar technologies in all 
building/facility applications as part of the projects supported by 
this Technical Assistance. Technical assistance will not be provided 
for research, product development, or early stage testing and 
evaluation of any technology or product.
    DOE will provide tailored hands-on Technical Assistance to the 
selected organization(s) through the use of specifically assembled 
Technical Assistance Teams. Members of these Teams will be subject 
matter and technical experts in areas such as, architecture, finance, 
planning, project management, etc. Significant participants of these 
Teams will be the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), Sandia 
National Laboratories (SNL), and the Southwest and Southeast Regional 
Experiment Stations (RESs), which are housed at New Mexico State 
University and Florida Solar Energy Center respectively. Other entities 
may be added to the teams as necessary. DOE may choose to contract for 
non-lab Technical Assistance Team members, mainly to provide the non-
solar-specific Technical Assistance, through a separate procurement 
instrument.
    Technical Assistance provided under this Notice is designed to help 
entities make informed decisions. Technical Assistance Teams will 
provide information and options to enable policy, planning, and 
purchasing decisions. DOE and the Technical Assistance Teams will not 
direct behavior or decisions, or require entities to take any 
particular course of action. The role of DOE stops short of the actual 
decision-making.
    To learn more about the Solar America Initiative (SAI): http://www1.eere.energy.gov/solar/solar_america/index.html.

    Issued in Golden, CO on January 15, 2008.
Mary Foreman,
Procurement Director, Golden Field Office.
 [FR Doc. E8-1919 Filed 1-31-08; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6450-01-P