Notice of Competitive Financial Assistance

DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY

Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy

Notice of Competitive Financial Assistance

AGENCY: Department of Energy.

ACTION: Notice of Competitive Financial Assistance Solicitation.

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SUMMARY: The Department of Energy (DOE) announces a competitive

solicitation for applications for grants and cooperative agreements for

information dissemination, public outreach, training, and related

technical analysis and technical assistance activities involving

renewable energy and energy efficiency. It is estimated that funding of

approximately $4 to $6 million will be available under renewable energy

programs, and $3.5 to $4.5 million will be available under energy

efficiency programs for awards under this solicitation in fiscal year

2000. Areas of interest involving renewable energy include wind,

photovoltaic, hydrogen, and bioenergy technologies. Energy efficiency

areas of interest include energy efficiency in the transportation,

buildings, and industrial sectors. The awards may be for a period of

six months to three years. Proposals will be subject to the objective

merit review procedures for the Office of Energy Efficiency and

Renewable Energy (EERE). Eligible applicants for this solicitation are

profit organizations, non-profit institutions and organizations, state

and local governments, universities, individuals, Native American

organizations, and Alaskan Native Corporations.

ADDRESSES: The formal solicitation document, which will include greater

detail about specific program areas of interest, application

instructions, and evaluation criteria, is expected to be issued mid-

November 1999. The solicitation will include specific funding totals

for each program area of interest. Application due dates for the

various program areas will be staggered throughout January 2000, and

applications will be processed by three DOE procurement offices to

expedite awards. Prospective applicants under Program Area 6A,

Technology and Systems Integration: Information Dissemination,

Outreach, and Related Analysis, will be encouraged to submit a pre-

application, not longer than two pages, on or around December 10th,

1999. A response to the pre-application encouraging or discouraging a

formal application will be communicated to the applicant.

The formal solicitation document will be disseminated

electronically as solicitation number DE-PS01-00EE10722 through the

Department's Current Business Opportunities of the Headquarters

Procurement Services Homepage located at www.pr.doe.gov/solicit.html

and the Industry Interactive Procurement System (IIPS) Homepage located

at http://doe-iips.pr.doe.gov. Effective October 1st, 1999, the IIPS

system will become the primary way for the Office of Headquarters

Procurement Services to conduct competitive acquisitions and financial

assistance transactions. IIPS provides the medium for disseminating

solicitations, receiving financial assistance applications and

proposals, evaluating, and awarding various instruments in a paperless

environment.

To get more information about IIPS and to register your

organization, go to http://doe-iips.pr.doe.gov. Follow the link on the

IIPS home page to the Secure Services page. Registration is a

prerequisite to the submission of an application, and applicants are

encouraged to register as soon as possible. A help document, which

describes how IIPS works, can be found at the bottom of the Secure

Services page.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION: Contact the U.S. Department of Energy, Office

of Headquarters Procurement Services, Attention MA-542 (Demer, EERE-

2000), 1000 Independence Ave., SW, Washington, DC 20585, telephone

number 800-683-0751, or e-mail at: [email protected]. Questions or

comments should be categorized as administrative or financial

assistance related. Administrative questions or comments relate only to

the operation of IIPS. All questions or comments should be directed to

the attention of Mr. Nickolas A. Demer. The preferred method of

submitting questions and/or comments is through e-mail. Only questions

and comments submitted to Mr. Demer will be considered. Questions and/

or comments requiring coordination with EERE program officials will be

directed by DOE personnel to the cognizant offices internally through

IIPS.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The Office of EERE supports DOE's strategic

objectives of increasing the efficiency and productivity of energy use,

while

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limiting environmental impacts; reducing the vulnerability of the U.S.

economy to disruptions in energy supplies; ensuring that a competitive

electric utility industry is in place that can deliver adequate and

affordable supplies with reduced environmental impacts; supporting U.S.

energy, environmental, and economic interests in global markets; and

delivering leading-edge technologies. A key component of this program

is the support of information dissemination, public outreach, training

and related technical analysis and technical assistance activities to:

(1) stimulate increased energy efficiency in transportation, buildings,

and industry and increased use of renewable energy; and (2) accelerate

the adoption of new technologies to increase energy efficiency and the

use of renewable energy. The purpose of this solicitation is to further

these objectives through financial assistance in the following areas:

Office of Power Technologies (OPT)--The primary mission of this

Office is to lead the national effort to develop solar and other

renewable energy technologies and to accelerate their acceptance and

use on a national and international level. Also, OPT develops advanced

high temperature superconducting power equipment and energy storage

systems, addresses advanced technology needs for transmission and

distribution systems, and provides information and technical assistance

on electric utility restructuring issues. Financial assistance

applications will be requested for information dissemination, public

outreach, and related technical analysis activities involving several

specific renewable technologies such as wind, photovoltaic, and

hydrogen technologies. Also, proposals will be requested to perform the

following activities: information dissemination, technical assistance,

and outreach relating to electric utility restructuring; export market

analysis, development, promotion, education, communication, and

outreach for U.S. energy efficiency technologies; co-sponsorship of

conferences involving the power technologies sector; the development of

interdisciplinary undergraduate course curriculum on renewable energy;

and Internet-based dissemination of information on Federal, State, and

Local government incentives for renewable energy technologies. In

addition, a draft request for proposals will be included for the

development of energy project proposals for submission to the U.S.

Initiative on Joint Implementation. This draft will be finalized early

in calendar year 2000 following the completion of the United Nations

Fifth Conference of the Parties and subsequent interagency negotiations

in the United States.

Office of Industrial Technologies (OIT)--The mission of this Office

is to improve the energy efficiency and pollution prevention

performance of U.S. industry. The Office has a particular focus on nine

industries, including the aluminum, steel, metal casting, glass, forest

and paper products, chemicals, petroleum refining, agriculture, and

mining industries. At the national level, the Office has successfully

facilitated the development of industry visions and technology roadmaps

with these nine industries. Financial assistance applications will be

requested to support information dissemination and outreach to

facilitate multi-States implementation of the Industries of the Future

program.

Office of Transportation Technologies (OTT)--The mission of this

Office is to support the development and use of advanced transportation

vehicles and alternative fuel technologies which will reduce energy

demand, particularly for petroleum; reduce criteria pollutant emissions

and greenhouse gas emissions; and enable the U.S. transportation

industry to sustain a strong competitive position in domestic and world

markets. Financial assistance applications will be requested to support

training for local Clean Cities Coalitions; workshops and conferences

related to the Clean Cities Program; and technical assistance and

outreach to Western Hemispheric countries to promote the adoption of

Clean Cities Programs or similar volunteer programs to expand the use

of alternative fuels and alternative fuel technologies.

Office of Building Technology, State and Community Programs (BTS)--

The mission of this Office is to develop, promote, and integrate energy

technologies and practices to make buildings more efficient and

affordable and communities more livable. Financial assistance

applications will be requested to support information dissemination,

public outreach, and related technical analysis activities for the

following BTS priorities: addressing the efficient and renewable energy

technology information deficit among commercial building constructors,

owners, and managers; promoting energy efficiency and renewable energy

utilization as a public value for residential builders and home buyers;

increasing the availability of energy efficient school design, retrofit

and technical resource information for school board members and school

administrators; preparing the building trades, building operators, and

building managers for the new generation of efficient and renewable

energy technologies; promoting the widespread installation of dedicated

compact fluorescent lamp fixtures; and strengthening the Rebuild

America Program through outreach activities with stakeholder

organizations representing facility managers, business officials, and

policy makers at colleges and universities, State and Local

governments, elementary and secondary schools, and public and other

low-income housing.

Bioenergy Initiative--The purpose of the Bioenergy Initiative is to

assure coordination and integration of biomass related activities. A

major goal of the Initiative is to triple U.S. use of bioenergy and

biobased products by 2010. Applications will be requested for projects

involving outreach about the benefits and useful applications of

bioenergy and biobased products to one or more of the following types

of entities: national environmental organizations, national

agricultural organizations, State environmental and community

development agencies, and other State policy makers.

The Office of the Assistant Secretary for EERE has the overall

management responsibility for the entire Office of EERE, including the

OPT, OTT, OIT, BTS, and the Federal Energy Management Program (FEMP).

Financial assistance applications will be requested to support

information dissemination, outreach, and related analysis activities

under Program Area 6A, Technology and Systems Integration: Information

Dissemination, Outreach, and Related Analysis, for projects which have

the objectives to:

(1) encourage the design, development, and adoption of energy

efficiency and/or renewable energy systems that incorporate two or

more technologies, or incorporate technology(ies) supported by at

least two DOE program offices (including at least one from EERE),

and that have identified potential for multiple applications across

sectors;

(2) stimulate greater technology integration and systems

integration activities, including multi-application product

development (a) within the energy efficiency and renewable energy

sector (e.g., multi-feedstock/multi-product biorefineries;

distributed power generation technologies, applications, and grid

interface issues; combined heat-and-power systems; industrial,

commercial, and district-energy concepts; on-site clean fuel

production and automotive fueling systems; and active/passive

commercial building energy management systems); and (b) between EERE

and the fossil energy sector (e.g., coal/biomass co-firing; higher

efficiency

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natural gas technologies; multi-fuel micro-turbines; carbon

extraction and sequestration technologies);

(3) encourage the design, development, and adoption of EERE

technology-based strategies for accomplishing environmental and

human health objectives under the Clean Air Act and other

environmental laws and policies, particularly at the State and Local

government level;

(4) encourage the use of Geographical Information Systems (GIS)

and other computer-assisted analytical, planning, and decision-

support tools to assist communities to evaluate the energy,

environmental, and economic impacts and costs of various options for

energy generation, distribution, and use; and

(5) develop financial risk and liability models for investments

in EERE technologies and systems in order to assist investors and

other stakeholders to evaluate financial risk exposure resulting

from energy investment choices.

In addition, financial assistance applications will be requested to

support region-wide technical assistance activities in developing

countries and countries in transition to support the development of

human and institutional capabilities related to EERE by governmental

entities, not-for-profit organizations, and industry organizations. The

region-wide activities must encompass one of the following regions:

Latin America, Africa, South Asia, or Eastern Europe, and encompass

several countries within that region.

Million Solar Roofs Initiative (MSRI)--The purpose of the MSRI is

to spur the installation of solar energy systems on one million U.S.

buildings by 2010. The initiative seeks to catalyze market demand

through the elimination of barriers to the use of solar energy systems

on buildings and the establishment of State and Community Partnerships.

Applications will be requested under this solicitation to develop

information, training, and workshops to assist in the elimination of

specific barriers. A separate solicitation providing direct support to

Million Solar Roofs State and Community Partnerships will be issued by

the Golden Field Office not later than January 2000. Additional

information about the programs of the Office of EERE can be obtained at

the Office's Internet site at http://www.eren.doe.gov/ee.html.

Issued in Washington, D.C. on October 26th, 1999.

Arnold A. Gjerstad,

Acting Director, Program Services Division, Office of Headquarters

Procurement Services.

[FR Doc. 99-28525 Filed 10-29-99; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 6450-01-P