Mississippi Development Authority
501 North West Street
Jackson, Mississippi 39201
I. INTRODUCTION
The Mississippi Development Authority-Energy Division (MDA-ED) received approximately $40 million in American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA) funding from the U. S. Department of Energy (DOE).
MDA-ED developed the Mississippi Job Protection through Energy Economic Development (MJPEED) program to assist Mississippi companies in making energy efficient upgrades to their facilities, cutting energy consumption and energy costs, and creating and retaining jobs. A total of $10 million was allocated to this program to be split between two funding rounds. Round 1 concluded on September 30, 2009 and awards were made on December 1, 2009.
This Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA) for Round 2 makes available approximately $4.8 million for the purchase and installation of energy efficiency improvements to private entities around the state. This is a competitive grant program and not all applicants will receive funding.
The Round 2 application and all attachments called for in this FOA, subject to the conditions herein and attached hereto, will be received at 501 North West Street, Woolfolk State Building, Suite 1500, Jackson, MS 39201 until March 31, 2010 at 3:00 P.M. Central Standard Time. All submissions received after this deadline will be disqualified.
Changes from Round 1
In an effort to streamline the application process and improve the experience for interested parties, MDA has made several changes to Round 2 of the program. The most notable change is the removal of the “pre-clearance” process. Any Eligible Applicant (see below) with Eligible Projects (see Pages 3-4) is able to fill out an application and return it to MDA prior to the deadline in order to be considered.
In addition, Applicants will not be assigned an individual project manager to work with through the application process. Uniform information will be provided to all Applicants through this FOA and any addenda that will be issued will be posted on the website. If Applicants have questions pertaining to the FOA, please see the Additional Information section on Pages 13-14.
Finally, several changes were made to the application since Round 1. This will enable MDA to collect more uniform information from all Applicants. Unsuccessful Applicants from Round 1 must fill out the revised Round 2 application and submit it prior to the deadline in order to be considered.
Eligible Applicants
Any private for-profit or non-profit corporation, sole proprietorship, or partnership with operations in Mississippi as of July 1, 2009 is eligible to apply for a grant through this program. 3
Applicants that applied in Round 1 of MJPEED but did not receive funding are eligible to apply in this round, but must fill out the revised Round 2 Application according to the instructions in this FOA.
Applicants can propose energy efficient improvements to multiple buildings within the same complex or on the same site but cannot include buildings on separate sites, such as in another city, on the same application. No Applicant will receive funding for more than one project.
Ineligible Applicants
Public entities including but not limited to municipal, county, or state governments, state agencies, school districts, Institutes of Higher Learning, community and junior colleges; casinos; golf courses; swimming pools; zoos; aquariums; awardees from the MJPEED Round 1, and projects that are already underway.
Energy Reduction Goal
MDA-ED will only fund projects that demonstrate a reduction in energy consumption, demonstrated as a reduction in BTUs through lower energy and/or natural gas use. A goal of 25% reduction in energy consumption on each project has been established, and those Applicants that reach that 25% energy consumption reduction will be considered more competitive.
Maximum Grant Amount
The maximum grant amount allowed under this program is 75% of installed system cost, up to a maximum of $750,000.
Minimum Grant Amount
The minimum grant amount under this program is $20,000. This excludes the minimum 25% match requirement which will be added to grant amount and will comprise the total cost of performing the proposed task in one location.
NOTE: Successful Applicants will receive written notice from program staff if the grant application has been approved by the Energy Division. Grants will not be awarded or paid for projects that began or were completed prior to the grant award date. The applicant must not begin work on the proposed project unless in receipt of a fully executed grant agreement.
Eligible Projects
The purchase and installation of commercially-available equipment deemed to be energy efficient installations, upgrades, or systems. These projects must reduce the energy consumption of a facility in order to be eligible. Upgrades and/or retrofits must be installed either on, in, or adjacent to buildings located in the state of Mississippi and used by the Applicant. In cases of agriculture or aquaculture operations, MDA would consider a project that is located on land owned or leased by an Applicant to be eligible for funding.
The following energy efficient upgrades and retrofits are the only projects that will be funded through MJPEED: 4
1. Lighting and Daylighting – Purchase, replace, or install LED or other new energy efficient lighting and daylighting features
2. HVAC – Purchase, replace and install new HVAC equipment at higher energy efficient SEER ratings
3. Building Envelope – Purchase, replace, or install building envelope improvements like insulation and weather sealing to roof, walls, ceiling, windows and doors. No new construction is allowed.
4. Water Heating – Purchase, replace, or install new domestic hot water systems at energy efficient SEER or EER ratings
5. Industrial systems for steam, process heating, pump, fan, and compressed air – Purchase, replace, and install eligible manufacturing equipment as part of an energy efficiency measure or renewable energy measure as defined in 10 CFR 420.2.
6. Solar and Combined Heat and Power Systems – Purchase, replace, or install small scale renewable energy power systems as part of an overall energy efficient project. These small systems must be located on/in existing facilities and are restricted to the following sizes:
o Photovoltaics – appropriately sized units on existing rooftops or parking shade structures; or a 60 kW system or smaller unit installed on the ground within the boundaries of an existing facility.
o Wind turbines – 20 kW or smaller.
o Solar thermal hot water – appropriately sized units for small commercial buildings.
o Geothermal/ground source heat pumps – 5.5 tons of capacity or smaller, horizontal/vertical, ground, closed-loop system.
o Combined heat and power systems – boilers sized appropriately for the buildings in which they are located.
NOTE: This program is intended for the purchase and installation of energy efficient upgrades. Some energy efficient projects that include small scale renewable components may be funded, but projects that only rely on renewable systems will be less competitive.
7. Metering and EMCS – Purchase and install new metering and Energy Management Control Systems for existing or new lighting and equipment.
Ineligible Projects
Funds may not be used for the construction of a building. Funds will not be used to purchase equipment that is not deemed to be energy efficient by the U.S. Department of Energy. This includes improvements to processes that do not reduce the total energy consumption of a facility, as measured by quantifiable BTU savings. Funds will not be used on projects that have begun prior to award.