FundOpp_DE-FOA-0003412_Amd_000001.pdf

DOE BIL/IRA FOA Template v4.0

ADMINISTRATIVE AND LEGAL REQUIREMENTS DOCUMENT

(ALRD)

U.S. Department of Energy (DOE)

Office of Manufacturing and Energy Supply Chains (MESC)

Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) Section 50143 Domestic Manufacturing Conversion Grants for Electrified Vehicles:

State Partnerships for Small and Medium Sized Manufacturers (SMMs)

Announcement Number: DE-FOA-0003412

ALRD Type: Modification 000001 Assistance Listing Number: 81.253 Manufacturing and Energy Supply Chain

ALRD Issue Date: August 15, 2024

ALRD Modification 000001 August 30, 2024

Submission Deadline for Full Applications: October 15, 2024, 5:00 p.m. ET

Expected Timeframe for Awards Negotiations: November 2024 - January 2025

Expected Timeframe for Awards: February 2025

• To apply to this ALRD, applicants must register with and submit application materials through the Clean Energy Infrastructure (S3) eXCHANGE at https://infrastructure-exchange.energy.gov, MESC’s online application portal.

https://infrastructure-exchange.energy.gov/

Questions about this ALRD? Email SMMConversion@netl.doe.gov.

Problems with the Clean Energy Infrastructure eXCHANGE? Email InfrastrcutureExchangeSupport@hq.doe.gov

Include ALRD name and number in subject line.

• Applicants must designate primary and backup points-of-contact in S3 eXCHANGE with whom DOE will communicate to conduct award negotiations. If an application is selected for award negotiations, it is not a commitment to issue an award. It is imperative that the applicant/selectee be responsive during award negotiations and meet negotiation deadlines. Failure to do so may result in cancelation of further award negotiations and rescission of the selection.

• Unique Entity Identifier (UEI) and System for Award Management (SAM) - Each applicant is required to: (1) register in the SAM at https://www.sam.gov before submitting an application; (2) provide a valid UEI in the application; and (3) maintain an active SAM registration with current information at all times during which it has an active federal award or an application or plan under consideration by a federal awarding agency (unless the applicant is excepted from those requirements under 2 CFR 25.110).

DOE may not make a federal award to an applicant until the applicant has complied with all applicable UEI and SAM requirements. If an applicant has not fully complied with the requirements by the time DOE is ready to make a federal award, DOE will determine that the applicant is not qualified to receive a federal award and use that determination as a basis for making a federal award to another applicant.

NOTE: Due to the high number of UEI requests and SAM registrations, entity legal business name and address validations are taking longer than expected to process.

Entities should start the UEI and SAM registration process as soon as possible. If entities have technical difficulties with the UEI validation or SAM registration process, they should use the HELP feature on SAM.gov. SAM.gov will address service tickets in the order in which they are received and asks that entities not create multiple service tickets for the same request or technical issue. Additional entity validation resources can be found here: GSAFSD Tier 0 Knowledge Base - Validating your Entity.

mailto:SMMConversion@netl.doe.gov mailto:InfrastrcutureExchangeSupport@hq.doe.gov https://www.sam.gov/ https://sam.gov/content/help https://sam.gov/content/home https://www.fsd.gov/gsafsd_sp?id=kb_article_view&sysparm_article=KB0058422&sys_kb_id=1b5f22581b2115102fe5ed7ae54bcb4e&spa=1

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Modifications All modifications to the Administrative and Legal Requirements Document (ALRD) are highlighted in the body of the ALRD.

Mod. No. Date Description of Modification

000001 08/30/2024 The purpose of this Modification is to update the following:

Updates to Full Application Content Requirements Table: Technical Volume corrected from 5 pages to 10 pages.

All changes are highlighted in yellow. Deleted text is denoted in strikethrough

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SUMMARY OVERVIEW OF KEY INFORMATION

Issuing Agency Department of Energy, Office of Manufacturing and Energy Supply Chains

Program Overview This program will provide funding to eligible state governments non-competitively, by formula to make awards to small and medium manufacturers to perform conversion projects to produce electric vehicles in accordance with Section 50143 of the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA).

Objective The Department seeks to partner with states to ensure small and medium manufacturers can participate in this IRA provision.

Topic Area Commercial-Scale Assembly or Component Manufacturing Facilities for Electrified Vehicles: The objective of this topic area is for the state to make subgrants to convert commercial-scale assembly or component manufacturing facilities from internal combustion (ICE) to electrified vehicles. State awards are subgrants; subgrants should be between $1 million and $10 million.

Eligible Applicants Eligibility is restricted – see Appendix A.

• An eligible Recipient must be a State, a Territory, or the District of Columbia

• An eligible Recipient must have a workforce at least 0.5% of which is in the automotive sector (NAICS Codes 3361, 3362, and 3363)

• An eligible Recipient must qualify for at least $4 million of grant funding according to the formula employed in Appendix A – State Formula Allocation Lists

Funding It is anticipated that this ALRD will provide Federal funding of $50,000,000 over five years.

Deadlines October 15, 2024, at 5:00 pm ET: Full Application Due

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i

Table of Contents

SUMMARY OVERVIEW OF KEY INFORMATION

Table of Contents.................................................................................................................................................... i

I. ALRD Description

A. Background and Context

i. Program Purpose

ii. Technology Space and Strategic Goals B. Topic Area C. Applications Specifically Not of Interest D. Community Benefits Plan: Job Quality, Equity and Justice40 E. Authorizing Statutes F. Notice of Inflation Reduction Act-Specific Requirements

II. Award Information

A. Award Overview

i. Estimated Funding

ii. Period of Performance

iii. New Applications Only B. DOE Funding Agreements

i. Formula Grants

ii. Funding Agreements with Federally Funded Research and Development Center (FFRDCs)

III. Eligibility Information

A. Eligible Applicants

i. Restricted Eligibility

ii. Individuals

iii. Domestic Entities

iv. Foreign Entities B. Head of State Government Letter C. Cost Sharing

i. Legal Responsibility

ii. Cost Share Allocation

iii. Cost Share Types and Allowability

iv. Cost Share Contributions by FFRDCs

v. Cost Share Verification

vi. Cost Share Payment D. Compliance Criteria E. Responsiveness Criteria F. Other Eligibility Requirements

i. Requirements for DOE/NNSA and Non-DOE/NNSA FFRDCs Included as a Subrecipient G. Questions Regarding Eligibility

IV. Application and Submission Information

A. Application Process

i. Additional Information on S3 eXCHANGE B. Application Forms C. Content and Form of the Full Application

i. Full Application Content Requirements

ii. SF-424: Application for Federal Assistance

iii. Technical Volume mailto:SMMConversion@netl.doe.gov mailto:InfrastructureExchangeSupport@hq.doe.gov file:///C:/Users/ckouch/AppData/Local/Microsoft/Windows/INetCache/Content.Outlook/4TEYU9I1/EERE-ExchangeSupport@hq.doe.gov

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ii

iv. Head of State Government Letter

v. Budget Justification Workbook

vi. SF-LLL: Disclosure of Lobbying Activities

vii. Waiver Requests (if applicable)

viii. Community Benefits Plan: Job Quality, Equity, and Justice40

ix. Environmental Questionnaire

x. Transparency of Foreign Connections

xi. Potentially Duplicative Funding Notice D. Post Selection Information Requests E. Unique Entity Identifier (UEI) and System for Award Management (SAM) F. Submission Dates and Times G. Intergovernmental Review H. Funding Restrictions

i. Allowable Costs

ii. Pre-Award Costs

iii. Performance of Work in the United States (Foreign Work Waiver)

iv. Construction

v. Foreign Travel

vi. Equipment and Supplies

vii. Build America Buy American Requirements for Infrastructure Projects

viii. Lobbying

ix. Risk Assessment

x. Invoice Review and Approval

xi. Prohibition Related to Foreign Government-Sponsored Talent Recruitment Programs

xii. Affirmative Action and Pay Transparency Requirements

xiii. Foreign Collaboration Considerations I. Application Review Information

i. Overview

ii. Recipient Responsibility and Qualifications

V. Award Administration Information

A. Award Notices

i. Full Application Notifications

ii. Applicants Selected for Award Negotiations B. Administrative and National Policy Requirements

i. Registration Requirements

ii. Award Administrative Requirements

iii. Foreign National Participation

iv. Subaward and Executive Reporting

v. National Policy Requirements

vi. Environmental Review in Accordance with the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA)

vii. Flood Resilience

viii. Applicant Representations and Certifications

ix. Statement of Federal Stewardship

x. Intellectual Property Provisions

xi. Reporting

xii. Go/No-Go Review

xiii. Conference Spending

xiv. Uniform Commercial Code (UCC) Financing Statements

xv. Real Property and Equipment

xvi. Implementation of Executive Order 13798, Promoting Free Speech and Religious Liberty

xvii. Interim Conflict of Interest Policy for Financial Assistance

xviii. Fraud, Waste, and Abuse mailto:SMMConversion@netl.doe.gov file:///C:/Users/ckouch/AppData/Local/Microsoft/Windows/INetCache/Content.Outlook/4TEYU9I1/EERE-ExchangeSupport@hq.doe.gov

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iii

xix. Construction Signage C. Government-Generated Statement of Project Objectives (SOPO)

VI. Questions/Agency Contacts

VII. Other Information

A. ALRD Modifications B. Government Right to Reject or Negotiate C. Commitment of Public Funds D. Treatment of Application Information E. Evaluation and Administration by Non-Federal Personnel F. Notice Regarding Eligible/Ineligible Activities G. Notice of Right to Conduct a Review of Financial Capability H. Requirement for Full and Complete Disclosure I. Retention of Submissions J. Copyright K. Export Control L. Prohibition on Certain Telecommunications and Video Surveillance Services or Equipment M. Personally Identifiable Information (PII) N. Annual Independent Audits

Appendix A – State Formula Allocation List

Appendix B.1 – Government Generated Statement of Project Objectives (SOPO)

Appendix B.2 – Government-Generated Statement of Project Objectives (SOPO) for Subawardees – Program Narrative Template

Appendix C – Cost Share Information

Appendix D – Waiver Requests For: 1. Foreign Entity Participation; and 2. Foreign Work

Appendix E – Buy America Requirements for Infrastructure Projects

Appendix F – List of Acronyms file:///C:/Users/ckouch/AppData/Local/Microsoft/Windows/INetCache/Content.Outlook/4TEYU9I1/EERE-ExchangeSupport@hq.doe.gov

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I. ALRD Description

A. Background and Context

The Office of Manufacturing and Energy Supply Chains (MESC) is issuing this Administrative and Legal Requirements Document (ALRD). Awards made under this ALRD will be funded, in whole or in part, with funds appropriated by the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA)1.

In August 2022, Congress passed, and President Biden signed the Inflation Reduction Act into law. The Inflation Reduction Act makes a historic commitment to build a new clean energy economy, powered by American innovators, American workers, and American manufacturers, that will create good-paying jobs with a free and fair chance to join a union, decrease the pollution fueling the climate crisis, and advance environmental justice.

IRA Section 50143 appropriated $2 billion to provide grants for domestic production of efficient hybrid, plug-in electric hybrid, plug-in electric drive, and hydrogen fuel cell electric vehicles, in accordance with Section 712 of the Energy

Policy Act of 2005.2 That section established the domestic manufacturing conversion grant program to provide grants and loan guarantees to clean vehicle manufacturers and suppliers, including component manufacturers. Section 712 states that “priority shall be given to the refurbishment and retooling of manufacturing facilities that have recently ceased operation or will cease operation in the near future.”3

Building on Section 712, IRA Section 50143 makes funding for such grants available through September 30, 2031, and provides that, “...the Secretary of Energy shall require a recipient of a grant to provide not less than 50 percent of the cost of the project carried out using the grant”. Additionally, Section 712 states that the “The Secretary may coordinate implementation of this section with State and local programs designed to accomplish similar goals, including the

1 Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, Public Law 117-58 (November 15, 2021).

https://www.congress.gov/bill/117th-congress/house-bill/3684. This ALRD uses the more common name Inflation Reduction Act (IRA).

2 Energy Policy Act of 2005 § 712, 42 U.S.C. § 16062.

3 Energy Policy Act of 2005 § 712, 42 U.S.C. § 16062(a)(3).

mailto:SMMConversion@netl.doe.gov https://www.congress.gov/bill/117th-congress/house-bill/3684

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retention and retraining of skilled workers from the manufacturing facilities, including by establishing matching grant arrangements.”4

i. Program Purpose

The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) is partnering with states to make funds available to eligible small and medium manufacturers to accelerate the growth of domestic production capabilities for electric vehicles and components. With funding allocated under this ALRD the following goals will be targeted:

• Retain and/or return good-quality, high-paying jobs in facilities that have long served Internal Combustion Engine (ICE) vehicle manufacturing.

• Retain, strengthen, and expand collective bargaining agreements in automotive facilities.

• Support a just transition for workers and communities in the transition to electrified transportation, with particular attention to communities supporting facilities with longer histories in automotive manufacturing.

• Expand United States electric vehicle and component manufacturing to meet the goal of having at least 50 percent of all new passenger cars and light trucks sold in 2030 be zero-emission vehicles, including battery electric, plug-in hybrid electric, or fuel cell electric vehicles.

• Strengthen domestic supply chains for electrified vehicles as well as related components and materials.

• This ALRD is making available up to $50 million in formula grants through a non-competitive process to eligible States.

The formula is based on a state’s proportion of the total automotive sector workforce among eligible states. Allocations may be adjusted by the number of States applying to participate in the program.

4 Energy Policy Act of 2005 § 712, 42 U.S.C. § 16062(b).

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NOTE: States may only make subgrants to facilities that are internal combustion engine related commercial-scale vehicle assembly or component manufacturing facilities that intend to support the domestic production of efficient hybrid, plug-in electric hybrid, plug-in electric drive, or hydrogen fuel cell electric vehicles or components.

See Section I.B.

As part of the whole-of-government approach to advance equity and encourage worker organizing and collective bargaining5,6,7 this ALRD and any related activities will seek to encourage meaningful engagement and participation of workforce organizations, including labor unions, as well as underserved communities and underrepresented groups, including Tribal Nations. In addition, consistent with Executive Order 140088 this ALRD is designed to help meet the goal that 40% of the overall economic, environmental, and other benefits of certain federal investments flow to disadvantaged communities, as defined pursuant to the Executive Order9.

ii. Technology Space and Strategic Goals This ALRD seeks applications to address how existing state programming can be leveraged to advance the domestic conversion grant program’s objectives of strengthening America’s electric vehicle production capacity. Detailed technical descriptions of the Topic Area are provided in the sections that follow.

B. Topic Area

This Program is to facilitate the conversion of Internal Combustion Engine manufacturing to Electric Vehicle manufacturing per IRA Section 50143. To achieve this objective, funding provided by DOE to Recipients under this Program

5 EO 13985, “Advancing Racial Equity and Support for Underserved Communities Through the Federal Government,” January 20, 2021. EO 14091, “Further Advancing Racial Equity and Support for Underserved Communities Through the Federal Government, February 16, 2023.

6 EO 14025, “Worker Organizing and Empowerment,” April 26, 2021.

7 EO 14052, “Implementation of the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act,” November 18, 2021.

8 EO 14008, “Tackling the Climate Crisis at Home and Abroad,” January 27, 2021.

9 Pursuant to EO 14008, “Tackling the Climate Crisis at Home and Abroad,” January 27, 2021, and the Office of Management and Budget’s Interim Justice40 Implementation Guidance M-21-28 and Addendum M-23-09, DOE recognizes disadvantaged communities as the census tracts identified as disadvantaged by the White House Council on Environmental Quality’s Climate and Economic Justice Screening Tool (CEJST), located at https://screeningtool.geoplatform.gov/, as well as all Federally Recognized Tribes (whether or not they have land).

See https://www.whitehouse.gov/wp-content/uploads/2023/01/M-23-09_Signed_CEQ_CPO.pdf. DOE’s Justice40 Implementation Guidance is located at https://www.energy.gov/sites/default/files/2022- 07/Final%20DOE%20Justice40%20General%20Guidance%20072522.pdf.

https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/presidential-actions/2021/01/20/executive-order-advancing-racial-equity-and-support-for-underserved-communities-through-the-federal-government/ https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/presidential-actions/2023/02/16/executive-order-on-further-advancing-racial-equity-and-support-for-underserved-communities-through-the-federal-government/ https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/presidential-actions/2021/04/26/executive-order-on-worker-organizing-and-empowerment/ https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/presidential-actions/2021/04/26/executive-order-on-worker-organizing-and-empowerment/ https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/presidential-actions/2021/01/27/executive-order-on-tackling-the-climate-crisis-at-home-and-abroad/ https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/presidential-actions/2021/01/27/executive-order-on-tackling-the-climate-crisis-at-home-and-abroad/ https://www.whitehouse.gov/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/M-21-28.pdf https://www.whitehouse.gov/wp-content/uploads/2023/01/M-23-09_Signed_CEQ_CPO.pdf https://screeningtool.geoplatform.gov/ https://www.whitehouse.gov/wp-content/uploads/2023/01/M-23-09_Signed_CEQ_CPO.pdf https://www.energy.gov/sites/default/files/2022-07/Final%20DOE%20Justice40%20General%20Guidance%20072522.pdf https://www.energy.gov/sites/default/files/2022-07/Final%20DOE%20Justice40%20General%20Guidance%20072522.pdf

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may be used to provide subgrants to facilities that meet the provision’s requirements to pursue conversion work.

This ALRD seeks applications from states intent on establishing programming to convert small and medium manufacturing facilities in ways that expand domestic production capability of electrified vehicles, as well as related components and materials, in the United States.

In addition, please review the Statement of Project Objectives (SOPO) in Appendix B.

All work for projects selected under this ALRD must be performed in the United States. See Section IV.H.iii. and Appendix D.

C. Applications Specifically Not of Interest The following types of applications will be deemed nonresponsive and will not be reviewed or considered (See Section III.D. of the ALRD):

• Applications from States not included on the formula allocation list in Appendix A to this ALRD.

• Applications from any other entity (other than the six States) not included on the formula allocation list in Appendix A to this ALRD.

D. Community Benefits Plan: Job Quality, Equity and Justice40 To support the goal of building a clean and equitable energy economy, IRA-funded projects are expected to (1) support meaningful community and labor engagement; (2) invest in quality jobs; (3) advance diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility (DEIA); and (4) contribute to the President’s goal that 40% of the overall benefits of certain federal investments flow to disadvantaged communities (the Justice40 Initiative).10 Please see Section IV.C.viii below for further details and requirements.

E. Authorizing Statutes This ALRD is issued in accordance with statutory authority provided by:

10 The Justice40 Initiative, established by EO 14008, sets a goal that 40% of the overall benefits of certain federal investments flow to disadvantaged communities. Consistent with Justice40 guidance, DOE recognizes disadvantaged communities as the census tracts defined and identified as disadvantaged by the White House Council on Environmental Quality’s Climate and Economic Justice Screening Tool (CEJST), located at https://screeningtool.geoplatform.gov/, as well as all Federally Recognized Tribes (whether or not they have land).

See https://www.whitehouse.gov/wp-content/uploads/2023/01/M-23-09_Signed_CEQ_CPO.pdf.

https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/presidential-actions/2021/01/27/executive-order-on-tackling-the-climate-crisis-at-home-and-abroad/ https://screeningtool.geoplatform.gov/ https://www.whitehouse.gov/wp-content/uploads/2023/01/M-23-09_Signed_CEQ_CPO.pdf

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The Energy Policy Act of 2005, Section 712, as added by the Inflation Reduction Act, Section 50143 (codified as 42 U.S.C. 16062).

Awards made under this announcement will fall under the purview of 2 Code of Federal Regulation (CFR) Part 200 as adopted and supplemented by 2 CFR Part 910.

F. Notice of Inflation Reduction Act-Specific Requirements Be advised that special terms and conditions apply to projects funded by the IRA relating to:

• Reporting, tracking, and segregation of incurred costs;

• Reporting on job creation and preservation;

• Publication of information on the internet;

• Access to records by Inspectors General and the Government Accountability Office;

• Requiring all of the iron, steel, manufactured goods, and construction materials used in the infrastructure activities of applicable projects are produced in the United States;

• Protecting whistleblowers and requiring prompt referral of evidence of a false claim to an appropriate inspector general; and

• Certification and registration.

Recipients of funding appropriated by the IRA must comply with requirements of all applicable federal, state, and local laws, regulations, DOE policy and guidance, and instructions in this ALRD. Recipients must flow down the requirements to subrecipients to ensure the recipient’s compliance with the requirements.

II. Award Information

A. Award Overview

i. Estimated Funding This ALRD is expected to make available up to $50 million for new awards under this announcement. Funds will be distributed on a formula basis in accordance with the formula allocations included as Appendix A – State Formula Allocation List to this ALRD.

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ii. Period of Performance DOE anticipates making awards that will run for up to approximately five (5) years in length with one coextensive project/budget period.

iii. New Applications Only DOE will accept only new applications under this ALRD. DOE will not consider applications for renewals of existing DOE-funded awards through this ALRD.

B. DOE Funding Agreements Through grants and cooperative agreements, DOE provides financial and other support to projects that have the potential to realize the ALRD objectives. DOE does not use such agreements to acquire property or services for the direct benefit or use of the U.S. government.

i. Formula Grants DOE uses grants to provide financial and other support to prime recipients to accomplish a public purpose of support or stimulation authorized by federal statute. DOE has the authority to provide financial support to prime recipients through formula grants.

ii. Funding Agreements with Federally Funded Research and Development Center (FFRDCs)11 When FFRDCs are not funded as subrecipients, FFRDCs are funded independently of the remainder of the project team. The FFRDC then executes an agreement with any non-FFRDC project team members to arrange work structure, project execution, and any other matters. Regardless of these arrangements, the entity that applied as the prime recipient for the project will remain the prime recipient for the project. See Section III.F.

III. Eligibility Information To be considered for substantive evaluation, an applicant’s submission must meet the criteria set forth below. If the application does not meet these eligibility requirements, it will be considered ineligible and removed from further evaluation.

11 FFRDCs are public-private partnerships that conduct research for the U.S. government. A listing of FFRDCs can be found at http://www.nsf.gov/statistics/ffrdclist/.

http://www.nsf.gov/statistics/ffrdclist/

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A. Eligible Applicants

i. Restricted Eligibility In accordance with 2 CFR 910.126, Competition, and Section 712, of the Energy Policy Act of 2005, eligibility for award is restricted to the six states identified in Appendix A – State Formula Allocation List.

DOE determined eligibility based on the following criteria:

1. An eligible grantee must be a State, a Territory, or the District of Columbia

2. An eligible grantee must have a workforce at least 0.5% of which is in the automotive sector (NAICS Codes 3361, 3362, and 3363)

3. An eligible grantee must qualify for at least $4 million of grant funding according to the formula employed in Appendix A – State Formula Allocation Lists

DOE utilized data from the Bureau of Labor and Statistics’ Economic News Release, Civilian labor force and unemployment by state for January 2024 in determining eligibility, as well as data from the Department of Homeland Security’s Geospatial Management Office’s Homeland Infrastructure Foundation-Level Data.

ii. Individuals U.S. citizens and lawful permanent residents are eligible to apply for funding as a subrecipient or subcontractor.

iii. Domestic Entities For-profit entities, educational institutions, and nonprofits that are organized, chartered, or incorporated (or otherwise formed) under the laws of the United States or a particular State or territory of the United States and have a physical location for business operations in the United States are eligible to apply for funding as a subrecipient or subcontractor.

State and local governmental entities and Indian Tribes are eligible to apply for funding as a subrecipient or subcontractor.

DOE/NNSA FFRDCs are eligible to apply for funding as a subrecipient or subcontractor but are not eligible to apply as a prime recipient. NETL is not eligible for award under this announcement and may not be

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proposed as a subrecipient on another entity’s application. An application that includes NETL as a prime recipient or subrecipient will be considered non-responsive.

Non-DOE/NNSA FFRDCs are eligible to participate as a subrecipient or subcontractor but are not eligible to apply as a prime recipient.

Federal agencies and instrumentalities (other than DOE) are eligible to participate as a subrecipient or subcontractor but are not eligible to apply as a prime recipient.

Entities banned from doing business with the U.S. government such as entities debarred, suspended, or otherwise excluded from or ineligible for participating in federal programs are not eligible.

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 eligible to apply for funding.

iv. Foreign Entities In limited circumstances, DOE may approve a waiver to allow a foreign entity to participate as a subrecipient. If the applicant seeks to include a foreign entity as a subrecipient, the applicant must submit a separate explicit written waiver request in the Full Application for each proposed foreign subrecipient.

Appendix D lists the information that must be included in a foreign entity waiver request. The applicant does not have the right to appeal DOE’s decision concerning a waiver request.

B. Head of State Government Letter Applicants must provide a “Head of State Government Letter”, documenting their appointment as the sole entity within the State to apply for, receive, and administer the award as authorized by this ALRD.

C. Cost Sharing Applicants are bound by the cost share proposed in their Full Applications for award.

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The cost share must be at least 50% of the total project costs12 for demonstration projects.13 The cost share must come from non-federal sources unless otherwise allowed by law.

In accordance with Section 50143 of the Inflation Reduction Act, cost sharing is required under this ALRD. Recipients must ensure that each project performed by subgrantees provide not less than 50 percent of the cost of the project carried out using the grant. Recipients must also ensure that additional cost share be provided to ensure that the total grant’s cost share be not less than 50 percent of the grant (i.e. costs borne by the subgrantee funded by the grant to administer programming must be met with cost sharing by the Recipient or subgrantees).

To help applicants calculate proper cost share amounts, DOE has included a cost share information sheet and sample cost share calculation as Appendix C to this

ALRD.

i. Legal Responsibility Although the cost share requirement applies to the entire project, including work performed by members of the project team other than the prime recipient, the prime recipient is legally responsible for paying the entire cost share. If the funding agreement is terminated prior to the end of the project period, the prime recipient is required to contribute at least the cost share percentage of total expenditures incurred through the date of termination.

The prime recipient is solely responsible for managing cost share contributions by the project team and enforcing cost share obligation assumed by project team members in subawards or related agreements.

ii. Cost Share Allocation Each project team is free to determine how best to allocate the cost share requirement among the team members. The amount contributed by individual project team members may vary, as long as the cost share requirement for the entire project is met.

12 Total project costs are the sum of the government share, including FFRDC costs if applicable, and the recipient share of project costs.

13 Energy Policy Act of 2005, Pub.L. 109-58, sec. 988. Also see 2 CFR 200.306 and 2 CFR 910.130 for additional cost sharing requirements.

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iii. Cost Share Types and Allowability Every cost share contribution must be allowable under the applicable federal cost principles, as described in Section IV.H.i. of the ALRD. In addition, cost share must be verifiable upon submission of the Full Application. Cost share may be provided in the form of cash or cash equivalents, or in-kind contributions. Cost share must come from non-federal sources (unless otherwise allowed by law), such as project participants, state or local governments, or other third-party financing. DOE Loan Guarantees cannot be leveraged by applicants to provide the required cost share or otherwise support the same scope that is proposed under a project.

Cost share may be provided by the prime recipient, subrecipients, or third parties (entities that do not have a role in performing the scope of work).

Vendors/contractors may not provide cost share. Any partial donation of goods or services is considered a discount and is not allowable.

Cash contributions include but are not limited to personnel costs, fringe costs, supply and equipment costs, indirect costs, and other direct costs.

In-kind contributions are those where a value of the contribution can be readily determined, verified, and justified but where no actual cash is transacted in securing the good or service comprising the contribution. Allowable in-kind contributions include but are not limited to the donation of volunteer time or the donation of space or use of equipment.

Project teams may use funding or property received from state or local governments to meet the cost share requirement, so long as the federal government did not provide the funding to the state or local government.

The prime recipient and subrecipient(s) may not use the following sources to meet cost share obligations:

• Revenues or royalties from the prospective operation of an activity beyond the project period;

• Proceeds from the prospective sale of an asset of an activity;

• Federal funding or property (e.g., federal grants, equipment owned by the federal government); or

• Expenditures that were reimbursed under a separate federal program.

Project teams may not use the same cash or in-kind contributions to meet cost share requirements for more than one project or program.

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Cost share contributions must be specified in the project budget, verifiable from the prime recipient’s records, and necessary and reasonable for proper and efficient accomplishment of the project. As all sources of cost share are considered part of total project cost, the cost share dollars will be scrutinized under the same federal regulations as federal dollars to the project. Every cost share contribution must be reviewed and approved in advance by the Contracting Officer and incorporated into the project budget before the expenditures are incurred.

Applicants are encouraged to refer to 2 CFR 200.306 as adopted and supplemented by 2 CFR 910.130 for additional cost sharing requirements.

iv. Cost Share Contributions by FFRDCs Because FFRDCs are funded by the federal government, costs incurred by FFRDCs generally may not be used to meet the cost share requirement. FFRDCs may contribute cost share only if the contributions are paid directly from the contractor’s Management Fee or another non-federal source.

v. Cost Share Verification Applicants are required to provide written assurance of their proposed cost share contributions in their Full Applications.

Upon selection for award negotiations, applicants are required to provide additional information and documentation regarding their cost share contributions. Please refer to Appendix C of the ALRD.

vi. Cost Share Payment DOE requires prime recipients to contribute the cost share amount incrementally over the life of the award. Specifically, the prime recipient’s cost share for each billing period must always reflect the overall cost share ratio negotiated by the parties (i.e., the total amount of cost sharing on each invoice when considered cumulatively with previous invoices must reflect, at a minimum, the cost sharing percentage negotiated). As FFRDC funding will be provided directly to the FFRDC(s) by DOE, prime recipients will be required to provide project cost share at a percentage commensurate with the FFRDC costs, on a budget period basis, resulting in a higher interim invoicing cost share ratio than the total award ratio.

In limited circumstances, and where it is in the government’s interest, the DOE Contracting Officer may approve a request by the prime recipient to meet its cost share requirements on a less frequent basis, such as monthly or quarterly.

Regardless of the interval requested, the prime recipient must be up to date on cost share at each interval. Such requests must be sent to the Contracting Officer

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during award negotiations and include the following information: (1) a detailed justification for the request; (2) a proposed schedule of payments, including amounts and dates; (3) a written commitment to meet that schedule; and (4) such evidence as necessary to demonstrate that the prime recipient has complied with its cost share obligations to date. The Contracting Officer must approve all such requests before they go into effect.

D. Compliance Criteria All applicant submissions must:

• Be submitted by an eligible State identified in Appendix A – State Formula Allocation List;

• Comply with the allocation amount for their respective State identified in Appendix A – State Formula Allocation List;

• Comply with the applicable content and form requirements listed in Section IV. of the ALRD;

• Include all required documents;

• Be successfully uploaded in S3 Exchange at https://infrastructure-exchange.energy.gov/including clicking the “Submit” button; and

• Be submitted by the deadline stated in the ALRD.

DOE will not review or consider submissions submitted through means other than S3 eXCHANGE, submissions submitted after the applicable deadline, or incomplete submissions.

Applicants are strongly encouraged to submit their Full Application at least 48 hours in advance of the submission deadline. Under normal conditions (i.e., at least 48 hours before the submission deadline), applicants should allow at least one hour to submit a Full Application. Once the Full Application is submitted in S3 eXCHANGE, applicants may revise or update that submission until the expiration of the applicable deadline. If changes are made to any of these documents, the applicant must resubmit the Full Application before the applicable deadline. DOE will not extend the submission deadline for applicants that fail to submit required information by the applicable deadline due to server/connection congestion.

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E. Responsiveness Criteria All Applications Specifically Not of Interest, as described in Section I.C. of the ALRD, are deemed nonresponsive and are not reviewed or considered.

F. Other Eligibility Requirements

i. Requirements for DOE/NNSA and Non-DOE/NNSA FFRDCs Included as a Subrecipient DOE/NNSA and non-DOE/NNSA FFRDCs may be proposed as a subrecipient on another entity’s application subject to the following guidelines:

a. Authorization for non-DOE/NNSA FFRDCs

The federal agency sponsoring the FFRDC must authorize in writing the use of the FFRDC on the proposed project and this authorization must be submitted with the application. The use of a FFRDC must be consistent with its authority under its award.

b. Authorization for DOE/NNSA FFRDCs

The cognizant Contracting Officer for the FFRDC must authorize in writing the use of the FFRDC on the proposed project and this authorization must be submitted with the application. The following wording is acceptable for this authorization:

Authorization is granted for the Laboratory to participate in the proposed project. The work proposed for the Laboratory is consistent with or complementary to the missions of the Laboratory and will not adversely impact execution of the DOE assigned programs at the Laboratory.

c. Funding, Cost Share, and Subaward with FFRDCs

DOE will not fund DOE/NNSA FFRDCs participating as a subrecipient through the DOE field work authorization process. DOE will not fund non-DOE/NNSA FFRDCs through an interagency agreement with the sponsoring agency.

Therefore, the prime recipient and FFRDC are responsible for entering into an appropriate subaward that will govern, among other things, the funding of the FFRDC portion of the work from the prime recipient under its DOE award. Such an agreement must be entered into before any project work begins.

The applicant should prepare the budgets using rates appropriate for funding the FFRDCs through subawards. The applicant’s cost share requirement will

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be based on the total cost of the project, including the applicant’s, the subrecipient’s, and the FFRDC’s portions of the project.

d. Responsibility The prime recipient will be the responsible authority regarding the settlement and satisfaction of all contractual and administrative issues, including but not limited to disputes and claims arising out of any agreement between the prime recipient and the FFRDC.

e. Limit on FFRDC Effort The FFRDC effort, in aggregate, shall not exceed 10% of the total project cost14.

G. Questions Regarding Eligibility DOE will not make eligibility determinations for potential applicants prior to the date on which applications to this ALRD must be submitted. The decision whether to apply in response to this ALRD lies solely with the applicant.

IV. Application and Submission Information

A. Application Process All submissions must conform to the form and content requirements described below, including maximum page lengths.

• Each must be submitted in Adobe PDF format unless stated otherwise;

• Each must be written in English;

• All pages must be formatted to fit on 8.5” x 11” paper with margins not less than one inch on every side. Use Calibri typeface, a black font color, and a font size of 12-point or larger (except in figures or tables, which may be 10-point font). A symbol font may be used to insert Greek letters or special characters, but the font size requirement still applies. References must be included as footnotes or endnotes in a font size of 10 or larger. Footnotes and endnotes are counted toward the maximum page requirement;

• A control number will be issued when an applicant begins the S3 eXCHANGE application process. The control number must be included with all application documents. Specifically, the control number must be prominently

14 Total project cost is the sum of the government share, including FFRDC costs if applicable, and the recipient share of project costs.

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displayed on the upper right corner of the header of every page and included in the file name (i.e., Control Number_Applicant Name_Full Application);

• Page numbers must be included in the footer of every page; and

• Each submission must not exceed the specified maximum page limit, including cover page, charts, graphs, maps, and photographs when printed using the formatting requirements set forth above and single spaced. If applicants exceed the maximum page lengths indicated below, DOE will review only the authorized number of pages and disregard any additional pages.

i. Additional Information on S3 eXCHANGE S3 eXCHANGE is designed to enforce the deadlines specified in this ALRD. The “Apply” and “Submit” buttons will automatically disable at the defined submission deadlines.

Applicants who experience technical difficulties with submission PRIOR to the ALRD deadline should contact the S3 eXCHANGE helpdesk for assistance (InfrastructureExchangeSupport@hq.doe.gov).

B. Application Forms The application forms and instructions are available on the S3 eXCHANGE. To access these materials on S3 eXCHANGE, go to Infrastructure eXCHANGE:

Funding Opportunity (energy.gov) and select the appropriate funding opportunity number.

Note: The maximum file size that can be uploaded to the S3 eXCHANGE website is 50MB. Files larger than 50MB cannot be uploaded and hence cannot be submitted for review. If a file is larger than 50MB but is still within the maximum page limit specified in the ALRD, it must be broken into parts and denoted to that effect. For example:

TechnicalVolume_Part_1 TechnicalVolume_Part_2

DOE will not accept late submissions that resulted from technical difficulties due to uploading files that exceed 50MB.

C. Content and Form of the Full Application Applicants must complete the following application forms found on the S3 eXCHANGE website at https://infrastructure-exchange.energy.gov/.

All Full Application documents must be marked with the Control Number issued to the applicant.

mailto:SMMConversion@netl.doe.gov mailto:InfrastructureExchangeSupport@hq.doe.gov mailto:InfrastructureExchangeSupport@hq.doe.gov https://infrastructure-exchange.energy.gov/Default.aspx https://infrastructure-exchange.energy.gov/Default.aspx

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i. Full Application Content Requirements Each Full Application must be limited to a single concept. Full Applications must conform to the following requirements and must not exceed the stated page limits.

Component File

Format Page Limit

File Name

SF-424: Application for Federal Assistance

PDF N/A ControlNumber_LeadOrganization_424

Technical Volume PDF 510 ControlNumber_LeadOrganization_Technical Volume

Head of State Government Letter PDF 1 ControlNumber_LeadOrganization_HGLetter

Budget Justification Workbook MS Excel N/A ControlNumber_LeadOrganization_Budget_J ustification

SF-LLL Disclosure of Lobbying Activities

PDF N/A ControlNumber_LeadOrganization_SF-LLL

Waiver Requests PDF N/A ControlNumber_LeadOrganization_Waiver

Community Benefits Plan: Job Quality, Equity and Justice 40

PDF 5 ControlNumber_LeadOrganization_CBP

Environmental Questionnaire PDF N/A ControlNumber_LeadOrganization_EQ

Transparency of Foreign Connections

PDF N/A BusinessSensitive_ControlNumber_LeadOrga nization_TFC

Potentially Duplicative Funding Notice (if applicable)

PDF N/A ControlNumber_LeadOrganization_PDFN

Note: The maximum file size that can be uploaded to the S3 eXCHANGE website is 50MB. See Section IV.B.

DOE provides detailed guidance on the content and form of each component below.

ii. SF-424: Application for Federal Assistance Applicants must complete the SF-424: Application for Federal Assistance, which is available on https://infrastructure-exchange.energy.gov/.

Effective January 1, 2020, the System for Award Management (SAM) is the central repository for common government-wide certifications and representations required of Federal grants recipients. As registration in SAM is required for eligibility for a federal award and registration must be updated annually, Federal agencies use SAM information to comply with award requirements and avoid increased burden and costs of separate requests for such information, unless the recipient fails to meet a federal award requirement, or there is a need to make updates to their SAM registration for other purposes.

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Note: The dates (Block 17) and dollar amounts (Block 18) on the SF-424 are for the complete project period and not just the first project year, first phase, or other subset of the project period. Save the SF-424 in a single PDF file using the following convention for the title: “ControlNumber_LeadOrganization_424”.

iii. Technical Volume The Technical Volume must conform to the following content and form requirements. This volume must address the technical review criteria as discussed in Section V. of the ALRD. Save the Technical Volume in a single PDF file using the following convention for the title:

“ControlNumber_LeadOrganization_TechnicalVolume”.

Applicants must provide sufficient citations and references to the primary research literature to justify the claims and approaches made in the Technical Volume. However, DOE and reviewers are under no obligation to review cited sources.

The Technical Volume to the Full Application may not be more than 10 pages, including the cover page, table of contents, and all citations, charts, graphs, maps, photos, or other graphics, and must include all information in the table below.

Technical Volume Content Requirements

SECTION/PAGE LIMIT DESCRIPTION

Cover Page The cover page should include the project title, both the technical and business points of contact (including the Administrative Officer, if applicable), names of all team member organizations, names of project managers, senior/key personnel and their organizations, the project location(s) where the administrative work will be performed, and any statements regarding confidentiality.

Workplan The workplan should include the following information:

• Approach:

i. Describe the proposed scope of activities to be carried out with the grant, including existing state programming federal funds to be leveraged, the manner by which States will select subrecipients, and the criteria…