330-200-0070 Technical Review (1) Once the applicant has paid the technical review fee, the department will conduct a technical review of systems advanced from the competitive review process. If the applicant does not submit the required payment to the department within 21 calendar days of notification of the advancement to technical review, the department may deny the application. (2) The department will review the information provided in the application against industry standards to determine whether the system is technically feasible and should operate in accordance with the representations made by the applicant. (3) To be eligible, the renewable energy production system must meet the following requirements: (a) The system must meet the requirements of the statutes, these rules and the Opportunity Announcement. (b) The applicant must be the owner, contract purchaser or system lessee at the time of the system’s installation or construction. (c) The applicant must be a trade, business or rental property owner with a business site in Oregon or be an Oregon non-profit organization, tribe or public entity. The applicant may not restrict membership, sales or service on the basis of race, color, creed, religion, national origin, sexual preference or gender. (d) A system located at a residential property must be rental property. A rental property must comply with laws related to rental accommodation and contain a dwelling unit or rooming unit with permanent living facilities. Living facilities include facilities for sleeping, eating, cooking and sanitation, for one or more persons, other than the property owner, which is subject to a rental agreement that provides for meaningful compensation to the owner. (e) A system located on a site that includes a residence, that is not a rental dwelling, must be separately metered from the residence. (f) Within the project schedule and detailed project description provided in the grant application, the applicant must demonstrate the ability to begin construction within 12 months from the date the department awards the grant. (g) The applicant may not receive funding for the system from the Feed-In Tariff program under ORS 757.365. (4) The department will review renewable energy production system costs for eligibility. The application must document cost by providing a list of itemized costs. (a) Eligible system costs include: (A) The cost of components of the proposed system. (B) Materials and supplies required for the construction and installation of the proposed system. (C) The cost of title searches, escrow fees, permits and license fees and shipping. (D) Design or engineering expenses related to system components. (E) Cost of work performed by employees or independent contractors of the applicant, based on the following conditions: (i) Employees or contractors must be certified, accredited, licensed or otherwise qualified to complete the work; (ii) The work must be associated with the acquisition, installation or construction of the proposed system; (iii) Project management and similar costs may only account for up to15 percent of eligible system costs; and (iv) Costs for employees’ or contractors’ work on the renewable energy system must be detailed and documented as to specific tasks, hours worked and compensation costs. This cost may include employee benefits and employment taxes. (F) Environmental studies, including source testing. (G) Other costs the department determines should be included. (b) Eligible system costs do not include: (A) Costs paid by a person other than the applicant. (B) Interest and warranty charges. (C) Litigation or other legal fees and court costs. (D) Patent searches, application and filing payments. (E) Costs to maintain, operate or repair the system. (F) Administrative costs to apply for grants, loans, tax credits or other funding for a system including, but not limited to, the renewable energy development grant fees. (G) Training or education expenses. (H) Costs that are incurred to bring a host building up to building code standards or otherwise repair the building in order to install the system, including design or engineering expenses. (I) Costs for a system or portion thereof, that has previously received a tax credit under ORS 469 or 469B. (J) Donated, in-kind or volunteer labor and materials. (K) Costs for a system, or portion thereof, if the project or system previously received a Business Energy Tax Credit or a Renewable Energy Development Grant. (L) Other costs the department determines should be excluded. (c) If a system is built under a lease or contract purchase, the applicant must provide system cost information. System cost may be demonstrated by providing a declaration of representative market value for the system that includes the anticipated cost of supply and installation. Such a declaration must include a list of primary system components and their costs. (d) An applicant may incur qualifying costs prior to the submission of an application, but may not begin installation or construction. (5) The department will determine whether the system is a single renewable energy production system or is part of a larger system in combination with other applications. (a) The department considers a single renewable production system as one or more electrical energy production devices that are applied for in response to the same Opportunity Announcement, use the same renewable resource, are located at the same site and are owned or controlled by the same person. (b) For the purposes of this subsection, “same person” includes affiliated or subsidiary corporations, other subsidiary business organizations or other affiliated entities owned or controlled by the same parent corporation but excludes equity-only financing partners. (c) The department may reduce the potential grant award or deny the application if the department finds that the proposed system is part of another renewable energy production system that has applied for or received a renewable energy production grant. (d) The department will not divide renewable energy production systems applied for in the same application. (6) If an application does not include all information needed to complete the technical review, the department may notify the applicant in writing, requesting additional information. If the department does not receive the requested information within 30 calendar days of the date of the notice, the department may deny the application. (7) During the review the department may inspect the proposed location of a system. The department will schedule inspections during normal working hours, following reasonable notice to the applicant. (8) The department will notify the applicant in writing if the department denies the application during the technical review. (9) If the technical review determines that information reviewed during the competitive review process was inaccurate, the department may deny the application. Statutory/Other Authority: ORS 469B.250 - 469B.265 Statutes/Other Implemented: ORS 469B.250 - 469B.265 History: DOE 10-2012, f. & cert. ef. 8-15-12 DOE 3-2012(Temp), f. & cert. ef. 2-22-12 thru 8-17-12