Motor Challenge Showcase Demonstration Projects

SUMMARY: The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) is interested in obtaining

proposals from industrial electric motor system end users for projects

that are intended to demonstrate and ``showcase'' electric motor system

energy efficiency, productivity, and environmental improvement in

specific industrial facilities and settings. Projects selected by DOE

will become ``Showcase Demonstrations'' and are part of a larger,

Federally-sponsored (DOE) program that is an industry-driven

collaborative effort called MOTOR CHALLENGE. The experiences and

successful results to be gained from the Showcase Demonstrations will

be used to encourage other U.S. industrial companies with similar

applications to adopt efficient electric motor systems, and therefore,

to increase the market penetration of efficient electric motor systems

on a widespread basis within the U.S. Currently twenty-one Showcases

are underway, and DOE intends to build upon the initial set of

Showcases by now focusing on process industries.

DATES: Proposals may be submitted between the receipt of this notice

and March 31, 1996. Proposals shall be considered as meeting the

deadline if they are either: (1) Received on or before the deadline

date or, (2) postmarked on or before the deadline date. Proposals which

do not meet the deadline will be considered late applications and may

not be considered. Acceptance will be done on a rolling basis. Within

four weeks of submittal, submitters will be notified regarding

acceptance, rejection, or a request for further information and/or

clarification. It is envisioned that selected projects will have a

duration of no more than 18 months, and therefore, projects are

expected to be completed (the project's costs and benefits defined and

validated) by September, 1997.

ADDRESSES: Showcase proposals should be submitted to: Mr. Andrew J.

Szady, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, P.O. Box 2009, 9102-1, Oak Ridge,

TN 37831-8038, 423-576-0243, Fax 423 576-0493. If there are any

questions concerning Showcase proposals please call the above Motor

Challenge Program contact. For additional information on the MOTOR

CHALLENGE Partnership, or to obtain application forms for the

Partnership, call the MOTOR CHALLENGE Hotline at 1-800-862-2086.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The MOTOR CHALLENGE program is designed to

reduce greenhouse gas emissions through increased market penetration of

efficient electric motor systems. It is expected that industrial

participants will achieve increased electric motor system efficiency

through the system integration of a variety of technology and

application options including: energy efficient electric motors,

adjustable speed drives, and motor-driven equipment (e.g., pumps, fans,

and compressors) within industrial operations and processes. DOE is

carrying out the MOTOR CHALLENGE program with industrial and

manufacturing companies, municipalities, electric motor and drive

manufacturers, original equipment manufacturers (OEMs), distributors,

utilities, energy service companies, research institutes, other Federal

agencies, state energy agencies, public interest groups, and other

supporting organizations. DOE will be the Federal agency with the

responsibility of selecting Showcase Demonstration projects, and will

then develop an Agreement between the government and the respective

selected companies.

Specific Aim of This Request

The MOTOR CHALLENGE program was launched on October 19, 1993 by the

Federal government (DOE) and industry with the signing of the MOTOR

CHALLENGE Compact (dated October 13, 1993). As stated within the MOTOR

CHALLENGE Compact, DOE would issue an appropriate notice to solicit

participants in the MOTOR CHALLENGE Showcase Demonstrations. On October

7, 1994 DOE issued a request for Showcase proposals, and on May 23,

1995 twenty-one Showcases were selected and announced. These Showcases

are currently underway. This current request is for additional Showcase

Demonstrations (approximately 10) primarily directed at the following

industries:

(1) Paper and Allied Products

(2) Steel

(3) Chemical

(4) Glass

(5) Aluminum

(6) Refining

(7) Metal Casting

(8) Food Processing

(9) Textiles

(10) Federal Operating/Production Facilities

Additional industries will be considered if, in the judgment of

DOE, the Showcase demonstrates energy and environmental savings

consistent with the tenets of the Motor Challenge Program, and the

industry is currently not represented in a Showcase.

As one condition of proposing to be a Showcase Demonstration, DOE

requires that each company, organization, and/or agency of a proposing

team, be a member of the MOTOR CHALLENGE Partnership by submitting an

appropriately completed application. (The availability of application

forms is discussed in the ADDRESSES section above).

Benefits of Industry Participation

Industry will receive many benefits by participating as a MOTOR

CHALLENGE Showcase Demonstration project team. The principal benefit of

participation is for an individual company to achieve energy

efficiency, productivity, and environmental performance goals faster

than otherwise. This will primarily be accomplished by the adoption of

a ``systems approach'' in the way electric motor and drives are

utilized within industrial operations and processes. Participation in

the Showcase Demonstration projects provides leveraged access to

technical assistance, and more reliable information. Participants will

use the experiences of the Showcase Demonstrations to replicate

opportunities within similar applications. In addition, participants

will gain national recognition for taking a leadership role in a unique

industry/government partnership. A secondary benefit of participation

is to catalyze and to solidify strategic alliances among team members

that otherwise would be more difficult to initiate and/or to maintain.

Specifically, the MOTOR CHALLENGE Showcase Demonstration project

teams will be provided the following technical assistance and special

access to DOE-funded activities:

(1) Input to Development of Technical Tools and Best Practices. DOE

is supporting the development of design-decision tools, best practices,

and guidelines on various electric motor system application topics

(e.g., motors, adjustable speed drives, pumps, fans, compressors,

etc.). The Showcase teams will have the opportunity to provide input to

DOE to ensure that the tools, materials, and procedures developed,

appropriately meet industry's design and decision-making needs and

requirements.

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(2) Performance Validation. DOE will pay for appropriate

engineering consulting assistance to advise Showcase Demonstration

teams on performance validation issues. Working jointly with individual

teams, the consultants will assist and advise teams on the development

and design of reliable experimental and performance measurement

techniques so that the demonstration's costs and benefits can be

validated. At the completion of each project an Independent Performance

Validation report will be completed.

(3) Case Study Documentation and Dissemination. DOE will pay for

the development and documentation of a comprehensive case history for

each Showcase Demonstration, and will disseminate the case study

results subject to team member's and independent performance

validator's review and approval. Likewise, DOE will provide a

compendium of Case Study Briefs.

(4) Access to Experts Group. Through the Oak Ridge National Lab,

DOE has assembled an Experts Group of consultants on electric motor

system optimization, specializing in high efficiency motors, variable

speed drives, fans, blowers, and pumps. Reasonable access to the

Experts Group will be provided to the teams to acquire technical

assistance and advice.

(5) Participation in Showcase Demonstration Workshops. Team members

will be invited to DOE-sponsored workshops where all Showcase

Demonstration teams will be provided the opportunity to exchange

valuable information and to discuss common implementation experiences

with industry counterparts. These workshops will also serve to inform

participants of the latest available technology. The first workshop for

the Showcases currently underway was held on June 27 and 28, 1995.

Benefits to the Government

The knowledge and experiences of the Showcase Demonstrations will

be used in future DOE efforts to assist industry in replicating and

implementing efficient electric motor systems. DOE intends that the

long-term result of highlighting the exemplary and cost-effective

benefits of the Showcase Demonstrations is the accelerated and

increased market penetration of efficient electric motor systems within

U.S. industry. The deployment of efficient industrial electric motor

systems will contribute significantly to greater energy efficiency,

reduced primary/source energy consumption, deferred new power

generation capacity, improved industrial productivity and

competitiveness, and enhanced environmental protection for the United

States.

Eligible Project Teams

Only industrial ``end-users'' are eligible to submit project

proposals. ``End-users'' are defined as those companies who own and

operate the facility where the demonstration will take place. In

addition to end-user participation, a project team may involve other

partners including, but not limited to, motor and drive manufacturers,

original equipment manufacturers (OEMs), distributors, utilities,

energy service companies, state energy offices, research institutions,

etc. End-user proposers are encouraged to include such participation.

Other non-end user entities are also encouraged to catalyze and support

proposal submission by end-user project teams.

Industry Showcase Demonstration Project Team Obligations

Each proposing project team will themselves provide all the funding

to support necessary design, equipment specification, purchase, and

installation for the efficient electric motor systems to be

demonstrated, along with all the measurement equipment and

instrumentation to validate and substantiate all claims of performance

and benefits achieved.

Teams will provide DOE with sufficient data to substantiate and

document the energy and environmental performance of the project and

the economic benefit/cost of the result. Additionally, teams will

provide appropriate information to DOE to allow for DOE contractors to

perform an independent performance validation report and to prepare a

comprehensive case study document. For activities within the Showcase

Demonstration, DOE will respect all proprietary interests to which

selected demonstration hosts are entitled. These activities will be

addressed in the previously referenced Agreement between DOE and the

project team.

Showcase Demonstration Team's Intellectual Property Rights

The Agreements to be signed by DOE and each MOTOR CHALLENGE

Showcase Demonstration project team does not envision a commitment by

the Participants to perform research and development. DOE's

intellectual property policies will not apply to Participant's

inventions because the work performed by the Participants in developing

the demonstration projects for the MOTOR CHALLENGE Showcase

Demonstrations are not wholly or partially funded by DOE. Therefore,

rights to intellectual property developed by Participants and

demonstrated by the MOTOR CHALLENGE Showcase Demonstrations will not

vest in the United States Government. Language to this effect will be

incorporated into any resulting Agreement.

Proposal Submission Format

The proposals must include the following sections at a minimum:

Section 1--Project Abstract

A brief abstract of the project should include:

(a) Project title;

(b) Brief narrative describing the project (1 or 2 sentences);

(c) Proposing industrial end-user company;

(d) Management and technical point of contact of end-user company

(name, title, address, phone, fax);

(e) Supporting team member companies, organizations, and points of

contact (title, address, phone, fax);

(f) Facility name and location where the demonstration is proposed.

Section 2--Description of the Project

(This section should take no more than two pages) A description of

the industrial application to include the kind of efficient electric

motor system [drive, motor, and load] the proposed project is intended

to address. Estimates of the energy, environmental, and economic costs

and benefits that might reasonably be expected to result from an

assumed successful demonstration [relative to the present or

conventional system], should be presented. Also, extrapolated costs and

benefits of the demonstrated system if it were it to be replicated in

other similar applications, within the proposer's corporate facilities

should be estimated.

A description of the technical approach of how and where the

demonstration will be implemented within the facility should be

explained. Also, a description of the technique and methodology to be

employed to measure and evaluate the performance of the demonstration

should be provided.

The overall project cost should be estimated along with the

approximate cost-share breakdown by all parties providing resources to

the project. A project schedule should be included which addresses the

following items:

(a) Procurement

(b) Installation

(c) Start-up

(d) Data acquisition

(e) Final reporting

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Section 3--Letter of Intent

Appropriate upper management within the industrial end-user company

must provide a letter of intent to support the demonstration project.

This letter will show evidence that the company upper management (e.g.,

Vice President, Engineering Director/Manager, Plant Manager, etc.) is

aware, endorses, and is supportive of the project at the proposed

facility, and the company will provide the necessary resources to the

project, if selected.

Section 4--MOTOR CHALLENGE Application Forms

Each participating proposing Showcase Demonstration team member

company or organization must join the MOTOR CHALLENGE program by

submitting an appropriately completed application. Applications can be

obtained by calling the MOTOR CHALLENGE Hotline number 1-800-862-2086.

This section should contain all completed application forms.

Availability of Federal Funds

Approximately $1.5 million in FY 1996 of Federal funds is expected

to be available to support the activities, authorized pursuant to

Section 2101 of the Energy Policy Act of 1992, 42 U.S.C 13451, in

support of the Showcase Demonstrations. These Federal funds will be

managed through the DOE Office of Industrial Technologies' Motor

Challenge program. Subject to the availability of appropriated funds,

up to 10 proposals may be selected as Showcase Demonstrations in

accordance with the evaluation criteria stated below. All selected

Showcase Demonstration projects will receive no Federal financial

assistance, but will be provided technical assistance by DOE as

stipulated above.

Technical Evaluation Criteria and Review Process

Proposals will be reviewed and technically evaluated by staff

members of the Oak Ridge National Laboratory.

Proposal Technical Evaluation Criteria

All proposals submitted in response to this notice will be

technically evaluated by two major categories as follows:

Category (1) Overall technical merit. The overall technical merit

will consider such factors as the practicality and likelihood that the

project will achieve success and the benefits claimed; and reliable and

defensible performance measurement techniques will be employed to

ascertain the project's costs and benefits.

Category (2) Economic significance if the project were to be

successfully replicated within the company and throughout the United

States. Factors to be evaluated that will influence the ability of the

Showcase Demonstration to impact the market are: the estimated cost-

effectiveness of the demonstration, the qualitative level of

productivity gain and non-energy cost savings from the application, and

the comparative significance of estimated energy cost savings if the

demonstration were to be replicated more broadly at the facility and

within the end-user's company.

Proposal Policy and Programmatic Factors and Applications of Greater

Interest

DOE will use policy and programmatic factors to select the

proposals of greatest interest. To attempt to ensure that a broadly

representative group of proposals are selected, DOE will seek diversity

in the Showcase Demonstrations selected by considering: geographical

location, application type, industry type, and facility size (e.g.,

annual electricity costs) of the Showcase Demonstration.

DOE prefers proposals for projects that are no further along than

the engineering design stage. However, if a project is further along,

DOE will consider the project as a Showcase Demonstration candidate, if

a reliable and defensible methodology of establishing a performance

baseline of a conventional system is available. For example, if another

conventional system is currently operating, and a performance baseline

of the conventional system can be measured and reliably compared to the

demonstration project, then this would be acceptable to DOE.

DOE has identified the following seven broad technical applications

as those in which it is most interested in receiving Showcase

Demonstration proposals:

(1) Applications where new efficient electric motor and drive

designs are creatively and cost-effectively integrated within specific

mechanical component systems (e.g., pumps, fans, compressors, etc.), or

processes so as to yield improved energy efficiency, productivity

improvement, and reduced life-cycle cost relative to typical

conventional operating systems.

(2) Applications where an efficient electric motor and drive system

replaces a less efficient heat-engine/mechanical drive system (e.g.,

steam turbine) to yield primary energy savings, productivity

improvement, and environmental improvement both at the facility and on

a global basis.

(3) New manufacturing production lines where state-of-the-art motor

and drive system utilization results in energy efficiency and

productivity improvement compared to similar conventional operations.

(4) Novel electric motor, drive, and mechanical system retrofits

that are more optimally matched to yield overall improved system energy

efficiency, reliability, and productivity improvement.

(5) Demonstration of exemplary electric motor and drive system

management policies and maintenance practices that result in higher

process reliability and gradual, but continual, overall energy

efficiency improvement. Topical areas of interest could be motor repair

and rewind techniques, electrical distribution improvement, and

mechanical system maintenance and optimization.

(6) Demonstrations that identify and implement the solution to

power quality problems, and by doing so, effectively increases total

system efficiency and productivity. Specifically, projects addressing

the impact of power quality on motor drives and other motor system

components which quantify the true cost/benefits of power quality

enhancement with respect to total motor system efficiency, reliability

and productivity.

(7) Implementation and retrofit of efficient motor and drive

systems on industrial heating, ventilating, and air conditioning (HVAC)

equipment or motor-driven industrial process heating or cooling

systems. These systems should be integrated creatively and cost-

effectively within an entire, or a portion of, an industrial facility

or process to yield improved energy efficiency, reduced life-cycle cost

in an environmentally-acceptable manner. [HVAC for industrial or

manufacturing facilities are only of interest, not HVAC for space

conditioning of an office or commercial facility].

Projects could involve a single unit of equipment, a unit

operation, a series of replicable equipment, an entire process, or an

entire facility. In general, proposals are desired which could lead to

demonstrably higher U.S. industrial productivity, energy efficiency,

environmental enhancement, and improved competitiveness once the

application is replicated on a widespread basis throughout the United

States. This listing is meant to be illustrative, not exclusive.

Final Proposal Selection

The recommendations of the technical merit review will be provided

by Oak Ridge National Laboratory to

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representatives of the Deputy Assistant Secretary for Industrial

Technologies. Final selection will be made by the Deputy Assistant

Secretary for Industrial Technologies.

Issued in Washington, DC on November 20, 1995.

Denise Swink,

Deputy Assistant Secretary, Office of Industrial Technologies.

[FR Doc. 95-29020 Filed 11-28-95; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 6450-01-P