330-210-0060 Competitive Review (1) The department will conduct a competitive review of all applications that pass the completeness review, other than those participating in the small premium project process. (2) During the competitive review, the department’s internal review team will prioritize applications for preliminary certification according to the criteria described in the rules. Depending on the Opportunity Announcement objectives, the department may give greater or lesser weight to each of the criteria listed in rules. (3) For the purposes of the competitive review, the department will compare projects of similar technology types against each other. The department may issue an Opportunity Announcement combining two or more of the following technological sector categories and compare projects from the technological sector categories together. The technological sector categories for energy conservation projects are: (a) Building envelopes, weatherization. (b) Renewably sourced thermal energy projects that use a renewable energy source, such as solar, biomass or geothermal, directly without converting it to electricity. Within this category, energy savings will be determined through energy displacement. (c) Commercial building systems. (d) Sustainable buildings. This category is for projects that are eligible for tax credits under the standards for new construction and total building retrofit. (e) Commercial, agricultural and industrial processes. (f) Combined heat and power or co-gen. (4) Within the technological sector categories, the department may divide the applications into tiers based on project size. The Opportunity Announcement will have details about any tiers prior to implementation. (5) In the Opportunity Announcement, the department will list the evaluation criteria for the competitive review. The competitive review will give preference to projects that have the highest energy savings over the five-year tax credit period per tax credit dollar requested. Additional criteria the department may consider includes: (a) The amount of energy saved over the equipment’s lifetime; (b) The market or industry sector; (c) The project’s expected lifespan compared to the project’s simple payback period; (d) The incentive structure and whether the energy savings benefit a party other than the owner; (e) Lifetime energy savings compared to lifetime cost (benefit-to-cost ratio); (f) The project implementation plan; (g) The project financial plan; (h) Information on jobs created and sustained; (i) The geographical area and local economic conditions of the site location; (j) Agreement to a voluntary reduction of requested tax incentive; and (k) Agreement to a voluntary measurement and verification plan, which includes an agreement to share the results with the department. (L) Integration with broader energy and environmental goals. (6) The department’s internal review team will recommend to the director which projects to advance to technical review based on the competitive review results. The director will review and then amend or approve the recommendations. (7) The department will notify applicants of the competitive review’s outcome. The department may place projects not advanced to the technical review phase on a supplemental list, pending the technical reviews of the selected projects. The department will retain the supplemental list until preliminary certifications have been issued for the selected energy conservation projects. The supplemental list will include only those projects submitted in response to the particular Opportunity Announcement. (8) The department will deny applications not advanced to the technical review phase or advanced from the supplemental list. The department will notify applicants in writing of the reason for denial of the application. (9) If an applicant has not started installation or construction of the energy conservation project, an applicant may apply again for the same project in a future opportunity period by submitting a new application and fee. The department will not apply fees or applications submitted in response to a previous Opportunity Announcement to future Opportunity Announcements. Statutory/Other Authority: ORS 469.040 & 469B.306 Statutes/Other Implemented: ORS 469B.270 - 469B.306 & 315.331 History: DOE 4-2016, f. & cert. ef. 11-14-16 DOE 6-2012, f. & cert. ef. 6-19-12 DOE 12-2011(Temp), f. & cert. ef. 12-23-11 thru 6-19-12