1. THIRD-PARTY FINANCED PROJECTS
Section IV.a of the Project Details Tab lists an executed PPA as a Project Readiness documentation item. Please confirm whether a project financed and owned by a third party, where the public body is the offtaker under a PPA, is eligible for this grant.
Yes, PPA projects are eligible.
2. DIRECT INCURRENCE OF INTERCONNECTION COSTS
In a PPA structure, interconnection costs are typically embedded in the PPA rate rather than paid directly by the public body as a separate line item. Please confirm whether grant eligibility requires the public body to directly incur and pay interconnection costs, or whether costs embedded in a PPA rate qualify, provided they can be itemized and substantiated.
We anticipate that interconnection costs must be paid for and invoiced through the awarded public body.
3. PROJECT STAGE ELIGIBILITY
The FAQs state that projects are recommended to have a completed interconnection study at the time of application. Please confirm whether a project that has already achieved commercial operation is eligible, or whether eligibility is limited to projects with interconnection work still outstanding as of the application date.
Projects that have already paid for and completed interconnection-related expenses are not eligible under this grant funding. Any expenses to be charged to the grant must be incurred once under contract as an awardee. Eligibility is limited to projects with outstanding interconnection work as of application and can wait until contract signing.
4. FORM GRANT AGREEMENT
The guidelines reference execution of "the applicable grant agreement or other required award documents" upon award, separate from the General Terms and Conditions provided with the application materials. Please provide a copy of the form contract or grant agreement that an awardee would be required to execute with Virginia Energy, so we can review its terms in advance of submission.
The State Terms and Conditions should be available in a blue button on your application screen. There are not additional federal award agreement documents.
5. TOTAL PROJECT COST AND INTERCONNECTION-SPECIFIC COSTS
It appears that the applicant is supposed to provide in the total project cost as well as the interconnection-specific costs. Is that right?
Yes.
6. PREVAILING WAGE REQUIREMENTS
Part of the interconnection costs are borne by the utility - they are charging for various pieces of equipment, and we don't know the extent to which they are able to comply with prevailing wage requirements. Will we need to ensure that the utility can meet prevailing wage requirements to be eligible for funding?
It depends. Virginia's prevailing wage requirements can be found in Virginia Code § 2-2-4321.3 and at this website: https://doli.virginia.gov/programs/labor-law/prevailing-wage-law/
7. NONPROFIT PARTNERSHIPS
[Redacted] County may be interested in a project that supports the nonprofit [redacted], which is a significant partner in the rural county. Could such a partnership be pursued with this grant?
No. This grant fund is aimed at supporting public bodies, not non-profits, with their solar interconnection costs.
8. PLANNING DISTRICT COMMISSIONS AS PUBLIC BODIES
Would a PDC be eligible as a public body?
Yes. Per Virginia Code § 2.2-3701. Definitions: "Public body" means any legislative body, authority, board, bureau, commission, district, or agency of the Commonwealth or of any political subdivision of the Commonwealth, including counties, cities, and towns, municipal councils, governing bodies of counties, school boards, and planning commissions; governing boards of public institutions of higher education; and other organizations, corporations, or agencies in the Commonwealth supported wholly or principally by public funds. [...]
9. DOMINION ENERGY GENERATION PROJECTS
Would a Dominion Energy generation project that feeds into the distribution grid be eligible for this grant opportunity?
Projects must be submitted, managed, and invoiced through the public body that the project benefits. Both behind the meter and front of the meter projects are eligible. Please note that projects are scored based on community benefit (section VI. 15 pts) and project need (section VII. 10 pts).
10. PPA ELIGIBILITY
Where the solar facilities are owned by a third-party provider under a PPA, but REDAC is the public-body host and applicant, are utility-required interconnection costs associated with those projects eligible for grant funding?
Yes, PPA projects are eligible. We anticipate that interconnection costs must be paid for and invoiced through the awarded public body.
11.MULTIPLE SITES
May REDA include multiple eligible school sites/projects in a single grant application, or is a separate application required for each project site?
Multiple sites may be included within one grant application if the sum of the projects is equal to or less than the suggested project cost of up to 25% of the total solar project cost (i.e., total solar installation + total interconnection costs) or $600,000, whichever is less.
12. INTERCONNECTION COST DOCUMENTATION
At the time of application, are utility-provided estimated interconnection costs sufficient, or must the applicant have a completed interconnection study and/or firm utility construction pricing?
Estimated interconnection costs are sufficient. Projects with a completed interconnection study and/or firm utility construction pricing may receive additional points for project readiness.
13. ELIGIBLE PROJECT CUTOFF
I would like Virginia Energy to clarify the cutoff for eligible projects that would be eligible to receive funding. Is projects that have not yet started, ongoing projects, or even retroactive to prior projects that have required funding to upgrade utility equipment.
Retroactive projects are not eligible. Virginia Energy cannot reimburse any costs already incurred. We anticipate that applicants have not yet incurred interconnection costs (or not yet incurred the interconnection costs requested through this grant) and will not pay for those costs until awarded and under contract.
14. REPORTING AND PROJECT COMPLETION
To receive grant funding, awardees must submit invoiced work and quarterly progress reports. Does this reporting requirement end "upon project completion" with the submittal of lists and photos of equipment installed? Sometime interconnection equipment may be installed and construction complete in advance of solar facility operation so is this reporting tied to interconnection construction or when the solar facility is operational?
Reporting is tied to costs funded by the grant. Project completion is tied to the completion of the grant related activities and expenses. Generally, a final site visit is required to confirm project completion and pay out the final 5% retainage.
15. RETAINAGE
Dominion Energy requires 100% payment of interconnection fees in advance of any construction. Will a 5% retainage of the total construction amount of the grant be withheld until project completion despite full payment in advance?
Most likely, yes.
16. FEDERAL OR STATE FUNDING
The application disclosures and acknowledgements state "Virginia Energy is administering federal funds" but the linked Federal Terms and Conditions says "This is not a federal grant so there are no federal terms and conditions." Can you please clarify if this grant is federally funded or state funded?
This is state funded.
17. PROPOSED PROJECT START AND END DATES
Should proposed project start and end dates be limited to interconnection-related project items, with the project start indicated by the Interconnection Agreement execution date? Or should this include project development and permitting that started in the past?
Proposed project start and end dates should be related to the grant-specific interconnection-related costs requested through this funding.
18. BUDGET AND TOTAL PROJECT COST
Since this grant is for interconnection-related costs, please confirm that the budget spreadsheet should only include interconnection-related cost items that the Applicant is looking to have covered with the grant. Additionally, in Project Details under Total Project Cost, should just the interconnection-related costs be identified?
The budget spreadsheet should only include interconnection-related costs requested through this grant funding. The Total Project Cost under Project Details should identify the entire solar project cost.
19. INTERCONNECTION STUDY AND DETAILS
Should Interconnection Study and Details include any narrative or is the intent that the two uploads - Interconnection Study A which is the project's Interconnection Agreement and Interconnection Study B which is the filled out excel sheet provide the requested information?
We are not requesting any narrative for Section V. Interconnection Study and Details.
20. ORGANIZATIONAL TYPE
Under the "Organizational Type" field in the Grant Portal, there is no option for "City Government". Should the REDACTED select "Special District Government," or is there another category Virginia Energy intends applicants like municipal governments to use?
Thanks for the note - please use County Government for now and our team will add City Government.
21. PROJECT DETAILS SECTION NUMBERING AND WORD LIMITS
In the Project Details Tab instructions, the guidelines reference "Sections III-VIII" for required fields, but the numbered list within this tab is labeled I-V (Site Selection and Project Details, Project Readiness, Interconnection Study and Details, Community Benefits, and Project Need). Could you confirm the correct section numbering, and clarify which sections are subject to the 300-word maximum per header?
Please utilize the numbered list within the Master Guidance PDF. Please limit all Roman numeral sections (including Site Selection and Project Details, Project Readiness, Interconnection Study and Details, Community Benefits, and Project Need) to 300 words or less. Any text submitted beyond 300 words will not be scored.
22. ENERGY RESILIENCE AND CAPACITY BUILDING / OUTCOMES AND METRICS
Under the Grant Guidelines under Project Details Tab say "enter NA for any required field not covered in Section III-VIII below, except the proposed project start and end date, the county/city, and anticipated project partners (question a)." Will responses for question b, section "Energy Resilience and Capacity Building", and section "Outcomes and Metrics" be evaluated or should those all be entered as NA?
They will not be evaluated and should be entered as NA.
23. PROJECT SUMMARY TAB AND MASTER APPLICATION DOCUMENT
For the Project Summary Tab, the Guidelines say "Using the header provided in bold in this section, copy your "Project Summary" into the section on the bottom of this tab. But the Guidelines also say "Save your responses in a master application document with the below headers (noting the word count maximums) and submit the complete application document in the "Supporting Documents" section. From the master document, you may (but are not required to) copy your responses for each tab into the Grant Portal." Is the intention that only the Project Summary Tab be individually copied into the portal and all other sections including the project summary tab be included in the master application document?
Thanks for your understanding as we develop our new Grant Portal and Grant Guidance documents. We prefer to score one master document but will accept text in the portal as well.
24. MASTER APPLICATION DOCUMENT ATTACHMENTS
Should attachments to the master application document be uploaded individually to maintain naming convention or should they be compiled into the master application document?
Please compile all attachments into one master application document and clearly label headings and ensure accurate word counts.
25. THIRD-PARTY FINANCING AND INTERCONNECTION PAYMENTS
We understand from prior responses that interconnection costs must be paid for and invoiced through the awarded public body, and that expenses charged to the grant must be incurred after contract execution as an awardee. Some of our customers under third-party financing agreements, such as PPAs, have raised concerns about the cash flow gap between when they are responsible for paying interconnection costs and when grant funds are actually received. To manage this gap, we would like to confirm whether the following structure is permissible: 1. The public body is named as the responsible party for interconnection costs and is the party that pays and is invoiced for those costs, consistent with prior guidance. 2. The third-party financier provides the public body with funds in advance of payment, so the public body has the cash on hand to pay the interconnection invoice when due. 3. Once the public body receives its grant disbursement from Virginia Energy, the public body repays the third-party financier the amount covered by the grant. Please confirm whether a public body may use funds advanced by a third-party financier to make its required interconnection payment, provided the public body remains the invoiced and paying party, and whether repaying the financier from grant proceeds after disbursement is permissible under the program.
This is fine.
26. GRANT APPLICATION DEADLINE EXTENSION
Would you consider extending the grant application deadline?
Unfortunately, due to internal timelines, we do not have much flexibility in the grant application deadline. However, we will extend the deadline from Friday October 2nd to Monday October 5th to allow additional time for submission.
