SECTION I 1. INTRODUCTION AND BACKGROUND DEPARTMENTAL OBJECTIVE On December 19, 1985, Pub. L. No. 99-190, "An Act Making Appropriations for the Department of the Interior and Related Agencies for the Fiscal Year Ending September 30, 1986, and for Other Purposes" (the "Act"), was signed into law. This Act, among other things, provides funds to conduct cost-shared clean coal technology projects for the construction and operation of facilities that would demonstrate the feasibility of future commercial applications of such technology. This Program Opportunity Notice (PON) is issued in accordance with the requirements of that Act. The Act makes available a total of $397.6 million for this program, as follows: $99.4 million in fiscal year 1986, $149.1 million in fiscal year 1987, and $149.1 million in fiscal year 1988. Of these monies, $25 million will be held in reserve to cover the cost of overruns in the event that the Government agrees to share such costs. In addition, $4.9 million will be reprogrammed for the Small Business and Innovative Research Program, and unavailable to the Clean Coal Technology Program. Also, funds will be set aside for contracting, travel, and ancillary costs incurred by the Department of Energy (DOE) for implementation of the Clean Coal Technology Program. All of the remaining monies will be available for award under this PON. The Act requires that DOE issue a "general request for proposals" for the Clean Coal Technology Program within 60 days of the date of enactment, provides 60 days from issuance of that request for the proposals to be submitted, and requires the selection of projects for negotiation not later than August 1, 1986. Pub. L. No. 99-190 also specifically addresses levels and forms of cost-sharing applicable to projects proposed under this PON. See SECTION VI, "Government Financial Participation." The legislative history of Pub. L. No. 99-190 suggests project selection criteria for consideration in the development of this PON. In particular, Senate Report 99-141 cites with approval the guidance on selection criteria embodied in Conference Report 99-236 and Senate Report 99-82, both of which accompanied the Supplemental Appropriations Act of 1985, Pub. L. No. 99-88. The Clean Coal Technology Program is related to, but not a direct continuation of, the effort that was undertaken by DOE pursuant to Section 321, Pub. L. No. 98-473, 98 Stat. 1874. (See SECTION III.26, "Previous Respondents to the Earlier Clean Coal Announcement.") Section 321 directed the Secretary of Energy to solicit "statements of interest in, and proposals for projects employing emerging clean coal technologies," analyze the information received, and submit a report to Congress that "assesses the potential usefulness of each emerging clean coal technology and identifies the extent to which federal incentives, including financial assistance, will accelerate the commercial availability of these technologies." In response to the November 27, 1984, Program Announcement, 49 Fed. Reg. 46696 (1984), DOE received one hundred and seventy-five submissions with project values totaling over $8 billion. On May 1, 1985, DOE submitted its findings in the "Report to Congress on Emerging Clean Coal Technologies" (DOE/S-0034). 2. On May 8, 1985, in testimony before the House Committee on Science and Technology, Subcomittee on Energy Development and Applications, DOE agreed to prepare a supplemental report that would further characterize the emerging clean coal technologies discussed in the May 1, 1985, report. DOE subsequently submitted the "Supplemental Report to Congress on Emerging Clean Coal Technologies" (DOE/MC/22121-1) in September 1985. Excerpts from the aforementioned legislation and accompanying PON OBJECTIVE The specific objective of this PON is to solicit proposals to conduct cost-shared clean coal technology projects to demonstrate the feasibility of these technologies for future commercial applications. |