330-220-0070 Technical Review (1) Once the department requests the technical review fee and the applicant has paid the technical review fee, the department will conduct a technical review of the alternative fuel vehicle project. If the applicant does not submit the required technical review fee to the department within 21 calendar days from the date of the request for payment of the technical review fee, the department may deny the application. (2) The department will review the information provided in the preliminary certification application against industry standards to determine whether the project is financially and technically feasible and should operate in accordance with the representations made by the applicant. (3) To be eligible, the alternative fuel vehicle project must meet the following requirements: (a) The project must meet the requirements of the statutes, these rules and the Opportunity Announcement. (b) The applicant must be the owner, contract purchaser or project lessee at the time of the project’s acquisition. (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, a federally recognized tribe or a public body as defined in ORS 174.109 that partners with an Oregon business or resident. 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 project located at a residential property must be rental property. A rental property must meet laws related to rental accommodations 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) For an alternative fuel vehicle infrastructure project, applicants must provide anticipated connection and charging patterns as part of the project description section of the application. (f) An electric charging station project must supply electricity for on-road vehicles. (g) An alternative fuel vehicle fleet project must be an eligible on-road vehicle type as described in the Opportunity Announcement. In the Opportunity Announcement the department will list the eligible vehicle types from those defined in ORS chapter 801. (h) An alternative fuel vehicle fleet project must register the alternative fuel vehicles in Oregon. Where applicable, registration under the International Registration Plan must have Oregon as the base jurisdiction. (i) An alternative fuel vehicle fleet project for the purchase of new vehicles must replace two or more vehicles and provide information demonstrating the vehicles being replaced are no longer in the project owner’s fleet or the fleet of any related entity. (j) An alternative fuel vehicle fleet must operate in Oregon as specified in the Opportunity Announcement, which will be at least 75 percent of the operation time. (k) An alternative fuel vehicle fleet project may be acquired with a capital lease. The capital lease terms must be at least five years. (L) An alternative fuel vehicle fleet project must include at least one eligible alternative fuel. (m) An alternative fuel vehicle fleet conversion or modification project must include new equipment installed by a qualified technician that is compliant with Environmental Protection Agency or California Air Resources Board standards. (4) The department will review the alternative fuel vehicle project’s cost for eligibility to determine qualifying costs. The application must document total project cost by providing a list of itemized costs. (a) Qualifying costs for an alternative fuel vehicle infrastructure project include: (A) The cost of components, including all materials and supplies needed for the erection, construction, installation or acquisition of the proposed project; (B) The costs to extend or increase the capacity of utility connections are only eligible if located within the property lines of the project location. Qualifying costs for utility connections for electric vehicle charging stations are also limited by location to: (i) $5,000 for a Level 1, 120 volt AC or similar, electric vehicle charging station. (ii) $15,000 for a Level 2, 240 volt AC or similar, electric vehicle charging station. (iii) $30,000 for a DC Fast Charger, or similar, electric vehicle charging station. (C) Fees to design or engineer the project; (D) The cost of title searches, escrow fees, permit and license fees, excluding fees required by this rule, and shipping; (E) Cost of work performed by the applicant’s employees or independent contractors if the following conditions are met: (i) Employees or contractors must be certified, accredited, licensed or otherwise qualified to do the work; (ii) The work must be associated with the erection, construction, installation or acquisition of the alternative fuel vehicle infrastructure project; (iii) Project management and other similar costs may only account for up to 15 percent of the qualifying costs; and (iv) Costs for employees’ or contractors’ work on the alternative fuel vehicle infrastructure project must be detailed and documented as to specific tasks, hours worked and compensation costs. (F) Costs for legal counsel that are directly related to the development of an alternative fuel vehicle infrastructure project; (G) Costs of training associated with the alternative fuel vehicle infrastructure project that is approved by the department; and (H) Other costs the department determines should be included. (b) Qualifying costs for an alternative fuel vehicle fleet project include: (A) Incremental expenditure of new alternative fuel vehicles. (B) Vehicle modification cost directly related to converting the fuel system of the vehicle to use alternative fuel, which are limited to new conversion component costs and labor to install the new components. (C) Other costs the department determines should be included. (c) Qualifying alternative fuel vehicle costs do not include: (A) Interest and warranty charges; (B) Litigation or other operational-related legal fees and court costs; (C) Intellectual property search, application and filing payments; (D) Donated, in-kind or volunteer labor and materials; (E) Administrative costs to apply for grants, loans, tax credits or other similar funding for an alternative fuel vehicle project including, but not limited to the tax credit review charge, costs associated with the creation and development of the certified public accountant attestation letter and costs associated with securing a pass-through partner for the project; (F) Routine operational, routine maintenance and repair costs associated with the alternative fuel vehicle project; (G) Expenses that are deemed not to have a benefit to the alternative fuel vehicle project, including but not limited to, fines, penalties, entertainment, food, alcohol, gifts and lobbying; (H) Any portion of the cost for an alternative fuel vehicle project that has previously received a tax credit or grant under ORS chapters 469 or 469B; and (J) Other costs the department determines should be excluded. (d) The department may do inspections to verify information reported on the preliminary certification application. (e) An applicant may incur qualifying costs prior to the submission of an application, but may not begin installation or construction. (5) 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. (6) The department will notify the applicant in writing if the department denies the application during the technical review. (7) If the department denies the application or reduces the tax credit during the technical review, the applicant may request reconsideration in writing within 60 days from the date of denial or reduction. Statutory/Other Authority: ORS 469.040, 469B.326, 469B.332 & 469B.347 Statutes/Other Implemented: ORS 315.336 & 469B.320 - 469B.347 History: DOE 1-2017, f. & cert. ef. 1-25-17 DOE 7-2014, f. 10-10-14, cert. ef. 1-1-15 DOE 9-2012, f. 7-31-12, cert. ef. 8-1-12 DOE 2-2012(Temp), f. & cert. ef. 2-7-12 thru 8-3-12