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Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
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| Media Advisories |
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| Q. Do the certification required by Section 611.101 (a) and the written assurance required by Section 611.101(m) have to be signed by a responsible officer of the applicant? |
| A. Yes, both the certification and written assurance must be signed by a responsible officer of the applicant. |
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| Q. Does a determination that an application is substantially complete mean that DOE has determined that the applicant and project are eligible for a loan? |
| A. No. The determination of substantial completeness is the first step in the review process. Applicant and project eligibility are determined in the second step of the review process. |
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| Q. In the chart at the top of page 66728 of the November 12th Federal Register are the values for cargo van correct? |
| A. No, the values on that page for cargo vans for "2005 Fuel economy average" and "2005 mpg x 125%" should read 19.9 and 24.8 respectively. |
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| Q. To what extent can qualifying components and engineering integration be used in vehicles that are manufactured outside the United States? |
| A. The project for which funding is sought must be performed in the United States. Moreover, the advanced technology vehicle to which that project is related must be sold in the United States. |
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| Q. Can funding from the Advanced Technology Vehicles Manufacturing Incentive Program (ATVMIP) be included in the determination of financial viability? |
| A. The statute and the Interim Final Rule require that the recipient of a loan be "financially viable without the receipt of additional Federal funding associated with the proposed eligible project." Funds received (or anticipated to be received) from the ATVMIP program itself may be counted when determining financial viability. |
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| Q. How will the evaluation process work? |
| A. The evaluation process will include four steps. In the first step, an application will be reviewed to see if it is substantially complete. If it is not DOE will notify the applicant what additional information it needs to provide DOE. Once an application is substantially complete, in the second step, the applicant and the project will be evaluated to determine if they are eligible for the ATVMIP. If they are not eligible, the application review process will end. If both the applicant and the proposed project are eligible, in the third step, the proposed project will be evaluated, potential terms and conditions of a loan will be developed and a decision will be made whether to make a loan. The fourth and final step is the negotiation and, if the negotiation is successful, the closing of the loan. The entire process will involve dialogue and exchange of information between the applicant and DOE in each step. |
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| Q. Can a loan be disbursed prior to the completion of a NEPA review? |
| A. No, a loan can only be approved once the NEPA review process has been completed. |
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| Q. Will DOE allocate set amounts of the available loan funds to manufacturers of advanced technology vehicles and manufacturers of qualifying components? |
| A. No. |
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| Q. Has DOE determined the amount of loans that will be available in the first tranche? |
| A. No. Any amount of loans made to applicants who file substantially complete applications prior to December 31, 2008, will be based on the applications received, the amount requested and the amount awarded. |
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| Q. If I submit an application on any date prior to December 31, 2008, will my application be considered in the first tranche? |
| A. Only applications that are determined to be substantially complete prior to December 31, 2008, will be considered in the first tranche. |
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| Q. Is there an application form that must be used to apply for a loan? |
| A. No, applicants are required to submit the information as set forth in §611.101 of the Interim Final Rule (please refer to the Key Documents page). |
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| Q. Is there a small business set aside for loans? |
| A. No, the small business set aside is only applicable for the grant program. |
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| Q. How do I apply for the grant program? |
| A. Congress has not appropriated funds for the grant program at this time. Accordingly, no applications are being accepted for the grant program. |
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| Q. When are loan applications due? |
| A. To be considered in the first tranche, a substantially completed loan application must be submitted to the U.S. Department of Energy - via hand carry or U.S. postal mail - on or before December 31, 2008. To the extent that funds remain available, applications will be accepted in subsequent tranches and would need to be submitted by the end of each following calendar quarter subsequent to December 31, 2008. |
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| Q. Are loans available for research and development projects? |
| A. Section 611.100 of the Interim Final Rule (published in the Federal Register on November 12, 2008, and available on the Key Documents page), describes who is eligible for loans. To be eligible, an applicant must be an automobile manufacturer, a component manufacturer, or a provider of engineering integration. |
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| Q. If my application contains company proprietary or confidential information, how should I mark such information to ensure it is not made public? |
| A. If elements and/or attachments of an application contain information the applicant considers to be trade secret, confidential, privileged or otherwise exempt from disclosure under the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA, 5 U.S.C. 552), the applicant shall assert a claim of exemption at the time of application by placing a notice of restricted text on the first page of the application; in addition, the applicant should specify the page or pages of the application containing restricted text. |
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