Large Therm Project Accelerator Request for Proposals (RFP) for 2017 Projects Application Template Application Draft Submission Deadline: Monday, October 3, 2016 at 5:00 p.m. CDT Final Application Submission Deadline: Wednesday, October 19, 2016 at 5:00 p.m. CDT Issued: August 30, 2016
The Large Energy Users Program (LEUP) is accepting applications for its LEUP Large Therm Project Accelerator Incentive from qualifying Large Energy Users in need of financial support for their large natural gas efficiency projects that can be completed in 2017. Benefits Summary Payback minimum projects can qualify down to a one-year payback, with the incentive (currently 1.5 years) Project incentive cap a single project cap increases to $400,000 (currently $150,000) Customer s annual cap annual incentive cap increases to $500,000 for 2017 Payment of up to 50 percent of the originally estimated project cost (currently 30%) Incentive to be proposed by customer: must be between $0.20 and $1.00 per annual therm saved. (Proposal scoring will award more points to lower proposed incentive rates.) Application Requirements 1. The Applicant must work with an Energy Advisor to develop Application documents which shall include the following: description of the project, description of key assumptions, energy savings calculations, an estimate of the anticipated incentive amount, vendor proposals (if available), response to the questionnaire regarding incentive need and other project benefits, signed by an authorized representative of the company. Application procedures are the same as for Custom Projects, but will receive a higher level of review due to the incentive level, to ensure the conceptual design and energy savings estimates are reasonable and to verify that the project s feasibility is attributable to Focus on Energy Program support. 2. Final Proposals must be received by Focus on Energy by October 19, 2016 at 5:00 CDT. If you would like to receive preliminary approval of your draft, submit a first draft by Monday, October 3, 2016. 3. The proposed project s annual energy savings must be at least 100,000 therms. 2
4. Must demonstrate high level of need for funding. 5. Project must be completed in 2017, demonstrated by submitting all completion paperwork no earlier than January 1, 2017 and no later than December 1, 2017. Completion paperwork shall include a signed Project Completion Notice, final invoices, and acknowledgment from the Energy Advisor that the project has been completed. (NOTE: Project incentive will be reduced by 10% if not completed by December 1, 2017. Incentive awards for projects whose completion paperwork has not been received within three months of the December 1, 2017 deadline may be cancelled.) Important Please Read While an Application may meet all of the application criteria, the budget allocated for this Large Therm Project Accelerator incentive offering is limited and funds will be awarded on a competitive basis. Focus on Energy will notify the Applicant within four weeks of receipt of the Application and strive to fund all acceptable Applications within budget limits. In order to receive preliminary approval from Focus on Energy, the applicant may submit a first draft of the Application by providing sufficient preliminary detail that explains the project type, the approximate total project cost, the estimated energy savings, the requested incentive amount, and a commitment from management of the intent to do the project if awarded. This first draft must be received by October 3, 2016 for Program review. For any questions on this procedure contact: Craig Schepp, Program Operations Manager LEUP Focus on Energy Email: scheppc@leidos.com Telephone: (608)-819-9034 This offer is not valid for projects that have already been approved or have been submitted and are pending approval status by Focus on Energy. Projects must be completed in 2017. All completion documentation must be submitted by December 1, 2017. APPLICATION SUBMISSION CHECKLIST Be sure your submittal contains all of the following items. Final Applications which do not include all of the following items may be disqualified. 3
1 - Customer and Project Information 2 - Key Project Metrics, including Expected Therm Savings, Proposed Incentive Rate ($/therm), and Total Incentive 3 - Program Impact Questionnaire 4 - Supporting Documentation: System specifications Calculation of thermal energy savings, including assumptions Project budget (include vendor proposals/quotes if available) 4
1. Customer and Project Information Complete the template below and ensure it is signed by an authorized company representative. Table 1 Customer and Project Information Applicant Applicant s Name Tax Identification Number (9-digit FEIN or SSN) Project Site Location Project Name Site Address City State: WI County Zip Electric Provider Electric Acct. # Natural Gas Provider Natural Gas Acct. # Name Customer Primary Contact and Mailing Address Address City State Phone Email County Zip Fax Technology Steam System [ ] HVAC [ ] Heat Recovery [ ] Process Heat [ ] Other [ ] Project summary (less than 200 words) Authorized Signature Signature Date 5
Table 2 Vendor/Trade Ally Information (Optional) Optional: Fill in Contractor information if Contractor is also to be informed Contractor Name Address City State Phone Email County Zip Fax 2. Key Project Metrics Complete the following table. Table 2 Key Project Metrics (a) (b) (c) (d) (e) Current natural gas usage (base usage, annual therms) Estimated natural gas usage after installing proposed measure (therms/yr) Natural gas savings (a b, annual therms) Must exceed 100,000 therms Applicant natural gas rate (customer cost of gas in $/therm) Proposed incentive rate ($/annual therm saved) (e) Proposed total incentive (c x e) (f) Total project cost ($) (g) (h) New construction (Yes or No) Project completion date (MM/DD/YY) NOTE: A ten (10) percent penalty applies if December 1, 2017 completion date not met. 6
3. Program Impact Questionnaire This special offering is intended to support large thermal energy efficiency (natural gas) projects that require funding in order to be approved by company management and that would not have been implemented under the standard Focus on Energy Program rules. Focus on Energy retains the right to fund only projects that are deemed to need funding and there is a high likelihood of completing the project. Please answer each of the following questions as completely as possible. The respondent should be a company decision-maker. In addition, a Focus on Energy representative may call the respondent to follow up on the information provided, if needed. 1. Are you responsible for making decisions on energy efficiency investments? Yes No a. If not, please forward this questionnaire an authorized decision-maker (identified to the right) Name of decision-maker Telephone number 2. Describe your normal decision-making process. (who, how, when) 3. What is your current company ROI/payback threshold? a. Threshold criteria (e.g., X year payback) = b. Is the threshold higher or lower for energy projects? 4. In the absence of this incentive, would you a. Continue operating with your current equipment? Higher Yes Lower b. Install a different, less efficient technology? Yes No No c. Install the energy efficient technology anyway? Yes No 5. Without Focus support, when would you likely do this project? Within 1 year Within 2 years Indefinite 6. Why is this incentive needed for this project? 7. What factors prevent you from doing this project on your own? 7
8. What additional support from Focus on Energy have you received for this project? (Check all that apply.) a. Energy Advisor technical support Yes No b. Energy Advisor Application support Yes No c. Project Assessment Incentive (or other Focus study) Yes No d. Focus on Energy Trade Ally support Yes No e. Focus on Energy training Yes No 9. Are there benefits, beyond energy savings, that will be derived from this project? (List below) Is this benefit more important than energy benefits? a. Yes No b. Yes No c. Yes No Authorized Signature of Decision-maker Signature Date 4. Supporting Documentation Attach the following documentation to this Application. To be considered complete, the Application must include these items. System specifications Calculation of thermal energy savings and parasitic electric use (if applicable) including key assumptions Project cost estimate (include vendor proposals/quotes if available) 8