Department of Energy
Golden Field Office
15013 Denver West Parkway
Golden, Colorado 80401
June 8, 2023
Eric Shum, P.E.
Electric Utility Engineer
City of Santa Clara
1500 Warburton Avenue
Santa Clara, CA 95050
Dear Eric Shum, P.E.:
SUBJECT: FY23 Congressionally Directed Spending project entitled, “City of Santa Clara - Fire Station Microgrid Project”, Pending Award No. DE-EE0010775
The Department of Energy (DOE), Golden Field Office, is responsible for processing an award for the subject Congressionally Directed Spending project identified for funding in the Energy and Water Development and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 2023 under the heading “Energy Projects” through reference to the “Congressional Record – Explanatory Statement.” To process your award in a timely manner, it is necessary for you to submit certain information about your project, as explained in more detail below.
Consistent with Congressional direction, DOE is reminding recipients that statutory cost share requirements may apply to this project. Depending on the nature of your project and applicable statutes, such as the Energy Policy Act of 2005, cost share on your part will likely be required. Cost share is defined as the amount of resources (e.g., cash, labor hours, equipment, etc.), expressed as a monetary value, that the recipient must contribute as part of the project. The cost share you may be required to provide could range from a minimum of 20% of total project costs for certain applied research or development projects to a maximum of 50% of total project costs for demonstration or commercial application projects. Cost share is not required for education and outreach activities. Your cost share will be added to the federal award funds to become the total cost of the project. DOE’s regulations on cost share requirements can be found in the U.S. Code of Federal Regulations at 2 CFR 910.130 and cost share requirements applicable to all federal financial assistance awards are available at 2 CFR 200.130.
The first step in the award process is for you to submit a nonproprietary, one-page summary of your project so DOE may determine the amount of cost share that will be required for your project. The nonproprietary, one- page technical description of your project must include the project title, the pending award number as shown above, the purpose (why), the scope (what will be done), the approach (how), the project stage (research, demonstration, commercialization, education, or outreach activities), and the expected outcomes.
Additionally, please submit the names, telephone numbers, and e-mail addresses for your primary technical and business points of contact. Cost share is dependent on the technology stage of your project; therefore, this summary should be detailed enough to determine whether your project involves research and development, demonstration, commercialization, or education and outreach activities. Please submit your summary no later than fourteen (14) calendar days after receipt of this letter to [email protected].
After receipt of a complete one-page project summary, DOE will send you a follow-up letter with a determination of the required cost share for your project and instructions for submitting a complete application package comprised of the forms and information shown below. Submission of the complete application package will be required within 30 calendar days of receipt of the follow-up letter. In order to expedite the process, it is suggested that you begin completing the steps identified below and the application
City of Santa Clara DE-EE0010775 June 8, 2023
2 forms, which can be downloaded from the EERE Funding Opportunities Forms page under Pre-Award:
https://energy.gov/eere/funding/eere-funding-application-and-management-forms.
A complete application package must include the following forms and information (Note: it is important to include the pending award number on all forms/submissions):
1. Pre-Award Information Sheet and all required attachments, including but not limited to: Current and Pending Support, Participants and Collaborating Organizations, and any other required disclosures, waivers, attachments or supporting documentation NOTE: Complete the Pre-Award Information Sheet first and promptly email it under separate cover to [email protected] (the remaining forms should be completed after receiving the cost share determination from DOE)
2. SF-424 Application for Federal Assistance
3. Certification and Assurances for use with the SF-424
4. Detailed Budget Justification
5. Copy of your approved Indirect Rate Agreement or a Rate Proposal supporting your proposed indirect costs in the Detailed Budget Justification
6. SF-LLL Disclosure of Lobbying Activities
7. Environmental Questionnaire, EQ1 (This form should be completed online at https://www.eere- pmc.energy.gov/nepa.asp)
8. Statement of Project Objectives (SOPO)
9. Commitment Letters from Third Parties Contributing to Cost Share
10. Subrecipient/Subcontractor Information: for each subrecipient/subcontractor who is expected to perform work estimated to be more than $250,000 or 25% of total award costs, provide: (1) separate detailed budget justification; and (2) description of work
11. Copy of the most recent independent Single Audit (for nonprofits, states, local governments, and educational institutions) or independent Compliance Audit (applicable to for-profit entities)
12. A short statement on whether the work will involve construction, alteration, maintenance or repair of publicly-owned infrastructure. Infrastructure includes but is not limited to: buildings and real property; dams, ports, harbors, and other maritime facilities; electrical transmission facilities and systems; utilities; and structures that generate, transport, and distribute energy (such as EV charging stations)
Your organization must also be registered in the
System for Award Management (SAM). All non-federal
entities are required to register in SAM in order to do business with the federal government. To register in SAM, follow the process described at: https://www.sam.gov. Registrants must continue to maintain an active SAM registration with current information at all times during which it has an active federal award or applicant under consideration by a federal awarding agency. As part of the registration process, SAM will generate a Unique Entity Identifier (UEI) number. The UEI must be included in block 8.c. of the SF-424 Application for Federal Assistance. A UEI is required for all applicants.
NOTE: Due to the high demand 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 utilize the HELP feature on SAM.gov. SAM.gov will work entity 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.
Your organization must register in FedConnect at https://www.fedconnect.net to receive your award documents. To create an organization account, your organization’s SAM MPIN is required. It is imperative that you register as soon as possible. More information is available at City of Santa Clara DE-EE0010775 June 8, 2023
3 https://www.fedconnect.net/FedConnect/Marketing/Documents/FedConnect_Ready_Set_Go.pdf. Questions pertaining to registration for FedConnect should be directed to https://fcsupport.unisonglobal.com/support/home.
PLEASE NOTE, ELECTRONIC AUTHORIZATION OF AWARD DOCUMENTS IS DONE IN FEDCONNECT. Acknowledgement of award documents by the recipient’s authorized representative through electronic systems used by the Department of Energy, specifically FedConnect, constitutes the recipient's acceptance of the terms and conditions of the award. Acknowledgement via FedConnect by the recipient’s authorized representative constitutes the recipient's electronic signature.
The Financial Assistance Regulations, found at 2 CFR 200 and 2 CFR 910 will assist you in understanding your requirements as an award recipient (See 2 CFR 200 – Uniform Administrative Requirements, Cost Principles and Audit Requirements for Federal Awards; and 2 CFR 910 – Department of Energy Addendum to 2 CFR 200).
Following DOE’s initial review of your application, we may request a conference call with your principal project officials. To accelerate the award process, this meeting may be scheduled to address any questions regarding your specific award and application.
During the award process, we may conduct an independent third-party review of financial capability for your organization, including, in some cases, personal credit information of the principal(s). The purpose of the review is to determine whether special award conditions may be required due to an organization’s past performance and financial capability. DOE agrees not to disclose information to any third parties resulting from this type of review, other than when required by law.
After submission of a complete application and DOE review, your award will be processed as quickly as possible. The target completion date for your award will be one hundred twenty (120) calendar days after receipt of a complete application. Failure to comply with the application submittal dates and instructions may result in substantial delays in processing your award.
If your organization does not have prior experience performing on federal government awards, a DOE representative may be in contact to discuss the requirements of an adequate accounting system. Your organization must have an adequate accounting system in place prior to expenditure of any award funds, in accordance with 2 CFR 200.302. Additional information is available on the EERE Financial Opportunities Resources page at https://energy.gov/eere/funding/eere-funding-application-and-management-forms.
You may not incur pre-award costs without prior approval of DOE. All pre-award costs are incurred at your risk. DOE is under no obligation to reimburse such costs if for any reason you do not receive an award or if the award is less than anticipated and inadequate to cover such costs. All costs must be allowable, allocable, and reasonable for the awarded scope of work in accordance with 2 CFR 200 Subpart E or 48 CFR 31.2, as applicable. The earliest date pre-award costs will be considered for approval is December 29, 2022, the date the Energy and Water Development and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 2023, was enacted.
Please note, DOE’s decision on whether and how to distribute federal funds is subject to the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) and DOE must conduct a NEPA review for all proposed project activities prior to authorizing the use of federal funds. Based on information available, DOE has not issued a final NEPA determination for this project. You should carefully consider and should seek legal counsel or other expert advice before taking any action related to the proposed project that would have an adverse effect on the environment or limit the choice of reasonable alternatives prior to DOE completing the NEPA review process.
DOE does not guarantee or assume any obligation to reimburse costs where the costs were incurred prior to receiving written authorization from the Contracting Officer. If you elect to undertake activities that may have City of Santa Clara DE-EE0010775 June 8, 2023
4 an adverse effect on the environment or limit the choice of reasonable alternatives prior to receiving such written authorization from the Contracting Officer, you are doing so at risk of not receiving federal funding and such costs may not be recognized as allowable cost share. Nothing contained in the pre-award cost reimbursement regulations or any pre-award costs approval letter from the Contracting Officer override the NEPA requirements to obtain the written authorization from the Contracting Officer prior to taking any action that may have an adverse effect on the environment or limit the choice of reasonable alternatives.
This letter should not be construed as a commitment on the part of DOE to either make an award or to make an award for a particular amount, notwithstanding the amount expected based on the Energy and Water Development and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 2023.
On behalf of the Department, I would like to express a sincere appreciation of your interest in the Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy programs. The following DOE team has been assigned to work with you on this project:
Grants Management Specialist: Traci Perry, 240-562-1582, [email protected] Contracting Officer: Stephanie Hodge, 240-562-1295, [email protected] Technical Project Officer: Thomas Rueckert, 202-586-0942, [email protected] NEPA Division Director: Andrew Montaño, 240-220-4117, [email protected]
Administrative questions regarding the application process should be addressed to Traci Perry. Technical questions concerning your project should be directed to Thomas Rueckert.
Sincerely,
Stephanie Carabajal
Director, Financial Assistance Office
Golden Field Office
cc:
Traci Perry, Grants Management Specialist
Stephanie Hodge, Contracting Officer
Thomas Rueckert, Technical Project Officer
Andrew Montaño, NEPA Division Director