Description of the Project

Financing and Ownership Structure

Describe the main parties to the project, including background, ownership and related experience

Current Project Status and Schedule to Beginning of Construction

Provide evidence sufficient to demonstrate that the proposed technology meets the definition of “Advanced Coal-Based Generation Technology,” either as integrated gasification combined cycle (IGCC) technology, or other advanced coal-based electric generation technology meeting the heat rate requirement of 8530 Btu/kWh. For advanced coal-based electric generation:

Provide evidence sufficient to justify that the proposed project is designed to meet the following performance requirements:

Provide evidence sufficient to demonstrate that the project meets the requirements for qualifying advanced coal projects as specified under § 48A(e)(1) including:

Provide information to support that the applicant has assembled a team with the skills and resources needed to implement the project as proposed. Provide signed agreements or letters from team members demonstrating that the proposed team members are fully committed to the project.

Provide information, including examples of prior similar projects completed by applicant, EPC contractor, and suppliers of major subsystems or equipment, which support the capabilities of the applicant and its team members to design, construct, permit, and operate the facility. The applicant should demonstrate that the team members have a corporate history of successful completion of similar projects.

Provide information to support that key personnel of the applicant and its team members have knowledge, experience, and adequate degree of involvement to successfully implement the project.

Include the project status and relevant information from ongoing engineering activities. Also include in an appendix any engineering report or reports used by the applicant to develop the project and to estimate costs and operating performance. Include copies of any signed agreements to support project status claims regarding preliminary design studies, FEED, and EPC-type agreements.

Identification of the primary feedstock (as defined in section 5.02(5) of Notice 2007-52), and all other feedstocks.

If applicable, evidence demonstrating that the project will be capable of adding components that can capture, separate and permanently sequester greenhouse gases.

A plan showing how project by-products will be marketed and utilized.

Other benefits, if any.

Provide evidence that the applicant owns or controls a site in the United States of sufficient size to allow the proposed project to be constructed and operated on a long-term basis. Documentation such as a deed demonstrating the applicant owns the project site, a signed option to purchase the site from the site owner, or a letter of intent by the site owner to sell the site to the applicant should be provided.

Describe the current infrastructure at the site available to meet the needs of the project.

Provide documentation supporting applicant’s conclusion that the proposed site can fully meet all environmental, coal supply, water supply, transmission interconnect, and public policy requirements. Such documentation may include signed agreements, letters of intent, or term sheets, such as coal supply, water supply, and product transportation, etc., and regulatory approvals supporting the key claims.

Provide detailed plans, schedules and status updates, particularly, for sites with pre-existing conditions that could impact the proposed project. Pre-existing conditions may include, but are not limited to, sites with mandated environmental remediation efforts; brown-field sites that will require building demolition; or sites requiring substantial rerouting of existing roads, railroads, transmission lines or pipelines prior to the start of the project.

Applicants must select one “proposed site.” However, projects with key physical or logistical elements that require close integration with another system for the project to succeed should provide information on all integrated systems regardless of where they are located. Example 1: a power plant designed to operate exclusively on coal from a to-be-opened mine should provide supporting documentation for the new mine. Example 2: an oxygen-blown IGCC plant planning to purchase oxygen from a third party who will construct a plant exclusively for this project should provide documentation for the oxygen supplier.

Provide a projection of the anticipated costs of electricity and other marketable by-products produced by the plant.

Provide documentation establishing that a majority of the output of the plant is reasonably expected to be acquired or utilized. Such documentation should be signed by authorizing officials of both the buyer and seller, and may include: Sales Agreements, Letters of Intent, Memoranda of Understanding, Option Agreements, and Power Purchase Agreements.

Describe any energy sales arrangements that exist or that may be contemplated (e.g., a Power Purchase Agreement or Energy Sales Agreement) and summarize their key terms and conditions.

Include as an appendix any independent Energy Price Market Study that has been done in connection with this project, or if no independent market study has been completed, provide a copy of the applicant-prepared market study.

Identify and describe any firm arrangements to sell non-power output, and provide any evidence of such arrangements. If the project produces a product in addition to power, include as an appendix any related market study of price and volume of sales expected for that product.

Power Purchase Agreement (if not fully explained in Section IV).

Coal Supply: describe the source and price of coal supply for the project. Include as an appendix any studies of coal supply price and amount that have been prepared. Include a summary of the coal supply contract and a signed copy of the contract.

Coal Transportation: explain the arrangements for transporting coal, including costs.

Operations & Maintenance Agreement: include a summary of the terms and conditions of the contract and a copy of the contract.

Shareholders Agreement: summarize key terms and include the agreement as an appendix.

Engineering, Procurement and Construction Agreement: describe the key terms of the existing or expected EPC contract arrangement, including firm price, liquidated damages, hold-backs, performance guarantees, etc.

Water Supply Agreement: confirm the amount, source, and cost of water supply.

Transmission Interconnection Agreement: explain the requirements to connect to the system and the current status of negotiations in this respect.

Provide a complete list of all federal, state, and local permits, including environmental authorizations or reviews, necessary to commence construction of the project.

Explain what actions have been taken to date to satisfy the required authorizations and reviews, and the status of each.

Provide a description of the applicant’s plan to obtain and complete all necessary permits, and environmental authorizations and reviews.

If applicant plans to purchase a steam turbine or turbines for the project, indicate the prospective vendors for the turbine and explain the current status of purchase negotiations, and provide a timeline for negotiation and purchase with expected purchase date.

Provide an overall project schedule which includes technical, business, financial, permitting and other factors to substantiate that the project will meet the 2 year project certification and 5 year placed-in-service requirement.

The project schedule should be comprehensive and provide sufficient detail to demonstrate how applicant will meet the certification and placed-in-service requirements. The schedule should demonstrate that the applicant understands the required tasks, and has allowed realistic times for accomplishing the technical and financial tasks. The schedule should include the milestone accomplishments needed to obtain the financing for the project.

Applicants should document their progress toward meeting the 2 year completion of permitting deadline. Existing permits and permit applications must be specific to the project proposed. If existing permits are not specific for the proposed coal-based project (e.g., the permits are for oil-fired or natural gas-based units), specific plans, procedures and schedules for reapplying, modifying and/or renegotiating permits should be provided. Any local, state or federal permitting schedules which may impact the overall project schedule should be included.

Applicant should document their progress toward obtaining engineering design information (FEED) to initiate permitting activities and to finalize the turbine generator purchase specification within the 2 year window. Most often, this requires final site, technology, process selection. Signed FEED and/or EPC-type agreements, if available, should be provided.

Copy of internal or external engineering reports.

Copy of site plan, together with evidence that applicant owns or controls a site. Examples of evidence would include a deed, or an executed contract to purchase or lease the site.

Information supporting applicant’s conclusion that the site is fully acceptable as the project site with respect to environment, coal supply, water supply, transmission interconnect, and public policy reasons.

Power Purchase or Energy Sales Agreement.

Energy Market Study.

Market Study for non-power output.

Financial Model of project.

Financial statements for the applicant and other project funding sources for the most recently ended three fiscal years, and the unaudited quarterly interim financial statements for the current fiscal year.

Expressions of interest or commitment letters from funding sources.

For each project contract, if no contract currently exists, provide a summary of the expected terms and conditions.

List of all federal, state, and local permits, including environmental authorizations or reviews, necessary to commence construction.

Location of the facility relative to potential carbon sequestration locations and carbon dioxide (CO2) pipelines or pipeline easements (for facilities not meeting Factor 3).

Presentation of other environmental, economic, or performance benefits (including, in the case of an IGCC project, priority factors that are listed in section 5.02(10) of Notice 2007-52 and are not included in the Primary Ranking Factors).

Higher plant efficiency.

Geographic distribution of potential markets.

The ratio of total nameplate generating capacity (as defined in section 3.02 of Notice 2007-52) to requested tax credit.

Diversity of technology approaches and methods.

It is important that the applicant select a specific gasification system for their project. Without that decision, it is difficult to provide the necessary specific design information needed for DOE to evaluate the project feasibility with respect to performance, emissions, outputs of major streams as well as capital and operating costs.

The Applicant’s capability to meet the legislated heat rate and/or environmental targets should be supported with design information, and or vendor guarantees which are project, site and coal specific.

Applicants should demonstrate the project’s economic feasibility and financial viability by providing a clear statement and explanation of the economic and financial assumptions made by the applicant, and a financial forecast for the project. The financial forecast should flow logically from the applicant’s assumptions and be consistent with them. Applicants should include assumptions regarding financial and economic issues that may not be included in the project costs but have a direct impact on the project. The examples given in the “Site Control and Ownership” section are relevant here and their impact on the project economics should be discussed here.

The information provided by the applicant in this section should demonstrate that the applicant’s financial plan for developing the project is feasible and that the applicant will have access to necessary financing. The applicant should explain the source and timing for obtaining all financing, including the project development costs. It is important that the applicant explain and provide evidence that it has the capacity to fund the pre-construction project development costs, together with a budget for and description of those costs. Note that financial information is required for the applicant and for any other funding source.

This section requires that the applicant demonstrate an understanding of the commercial contracting process and show progress in establishing the framework of contracts and agreements that a project typically requires. Applicants should show that their intended contract structure is reasonable and that their assumptions relative to price, terms, and conditions are consistent with current market conditions. Evidence of final agreements, agreements in principle, or summaries of terms and conditions between the applicant and contract counterparties should be provided if available.