IMPORTANT NOTE:
Responses have been provided below to questions posed by interested parties. While the responses are based on the prize rules document they do not take precedent over the more detailed information provided in the official rules. All potential prize competitors are encouraged to read that document carefully before proceeding with plans to prepare and submit an application.
ADMINISTRATIVE QUESTIONS
Q: Should national labs only be mentioned on the voucher slide or be included in the team qualification section of the technical narrative?
A: In addition to including them on the voucher slide, national laboratories may be mentioned in your technical narrative if they are, or have been, a partner organization in your product development process. However, national laboratories are not eligible to be core members of prize teams and cannot receive prize money. If teams wish to engage national laboratories for work beyond what is funded through vouchers, they are welcome to subcontract to those national laboratories directly.
____________________________________________________________
Q: Do you accept participants from all around the world? Is that applicable for only USA residents? Do all members of the collaboration need to be US companies?
A: To apply, the lead organization needs to be a U.S entity. Other participants on the team do not need to be U.S. based. Residency of the individuals within a company is not considered.
____________________________________________________________
Q: Is it preferred to apply as a single entity or as a consortium (for example: technology developer + key enabler in serial production)
A: There must be a single entity who may be applying on their own or as the lead of several collaborating organizations.
____________________________________________________________
Q: Is there any way to find USA citizen as a team captain?
A: We recommend using the ‘join a team’ button on HeroX to connect with other innovators and teams. We also will be sharing information from the Business Network for Offshore Wind who will be supporting teams with matchmaking. Please keep an eye out on HeroX for updates about this opportunity. The lead organization needs to be a U.S. based office. However, note that U.S. citizenship is not a requirement to participate in the prize.
____________________________________________________________
Q: Is it OK if a team, which is based in the US, has a member who works remotely from overseas?
A: Yes, it is ok for a member to work overseas.
____________________________________________________________
Q: Will we get feedback on how the proposals were scored?
A: Expert Reviewer’s comments on submissions, which inform the scoring, will be shared with teams after winners are announced.
____________________________________________________________
Q: Do we have to write about how we will be using the prize money?
A: There is language in the rules that states the following, “Briefly describe how the prize money will be used to further progress toward U.S. manufacturing and deployment of offshore wind energy systems.” However, once winning teams receive prize funds, they may use those funds however they see fit.
____________________________________________________________
Q: Is a foreign work waiver required for non-US team members?
A: No, a foreign work waiver is not required.
____________________________________________________________
Q: Might be a trivial question, only the teams selected as winners in Phase 1 can proceed to Phase 2 and Phase 3? In other words, a team, which is not selected as winners in Phase 1 would be completely eliminated?
A: Only winners of phase 1 can proceed to phase 2, and only phase 2 winners can proceed to phase 3 of this prize.
____________________________________________________________
Q: Can a company be in multiple applications?
A: An entity (such as a company) can only be the lead or team captain of one submission. However, a company can be included in multiple submissions.
____________________________________________________________
Q: Will this recording be made available to us?
A: Yes. A recording of the phase 1 informational webinar for the FLOWIN prize is currently posted on the updates and resources tab.
____________________________________________________________
Q: Can an entity be the lead in more than one prize competitions, i.e., solar, wind, geo?
A: Yes. A lead or team captain can apply for more than one prize with the American-Made challenges program.
____________________________________________________________
Q: How many experts will be reviewing the application?
A: The Prize Administrator, in consultation with DOE, assigns subject matter expert reviewers who independently score the content of each submission. The identities and quantity of reviewers will not be made public. The review panel will be comprised of federal and non federal subject matter experts with expertise in areas relevant to the competition. All reviewers will be under a nondisclosure agreement before they are allowed to review submissions, and the non-federal reviewers will be selected to avoid potential conflicts of interest.
____________________________________________________________
Q: The support from the Business network, is this more understanding the rules and format?
A: The Business Network will be focused on supporting teams, and any queries about the rules and format should be addressed to FLOWINprize@nrel.gov. The Business Network for Offshore Wind is a national non-profit dedicated solely to the offshore wind industry. The Business Network is being contracted by WETO to support competitors on this prize; they will be supporting teams with webinars about the Offshore Wind supply chain, networking opportunities, match making and mentoring. Please keep an eye out as we will be posting information about office hours with their experts as well as upcoming educational, networking, and mentoring opportunities.
____________________________________________________________
Q: While redeeming Lab Vouchers, how do the non-us entities of a teamwork with the Labs?
A: The team lead or captain needs to be a US entity. This captain or lead would be responsible for utilizing their voucher at a national laboratory. Once voucher arrangements are made, other team members, US-based or otherwise, may interact with labs on technical details. Standard security procedures for interactions of foreign nationals with national laboratories will apply.
____________________________________________________________
Q: This prize may take time for industry to internalize. It seems to be focused on floating turbine platforms. What about adjacent areas such as hydrogen or floating substations? And is there a clear definition of American-Made in the same way as Apple is identified as designed in Cupertino?
A: There are no current prizes in adjacent areas; however, we suggest that you follow HeroX and our American-Made Challenges website and social media pages to be kept up to date on future prizes. The prize is only focused on how to enable large-scale U.S. manufacturing of floating offshore wind systems, and not on substations or hydrogen. Regarding the reference to Apple, the focus of this prize is on manufacturing in the U.S., not merely designing in the U.S and manufacturing elsewhere. ____________________________________________________________
TECHNOLOGY QUESTIONS
Q: You mentioned the prize is focused on water depths > 40 meters. Are deeper waters preferred and scored higher?
A: No, there is no preference for any specific water depth. The focus is on floating offshore wind technology at any practical and cost-effective water depth.
____________________________________________________________
Q: If a manufacturing process could help industrialize production of multiple platform designs, is it acceptable to apply with a range of platform designs?
A: You may only lead one proposal but may support multiple teams, for instance with a manufacturing process. Therefore, you could have a similar support role on multiple proposals. However, individual proposals should be focused solely on the manufacturing and commercial development of a single platform design.
____________________________________________________________
Q: Is technology assessment (TA) comparing offshore deployment of turbine/tower versus AWE (airborne wind energy) technologies underway or being considered? NREL study points out lack of basic study whether AWE will be a less costly source of renewable energy though apparently no such study has been initiated (see Executive Summary) > https://www.nrel.gov/docs/fy21osti/79992.pdf
A: This funding opportunity is focused on floating offshore wind turbine platforms. Airborne wind is not of interest for this opportunity.
____________________________________________________________
Q: Can you please explain the TRL requirement for the platform? Are you looking for entities that have already demonstrated platform designs? Will existing commercialized designs be scored higher than conceptual designs?
A: There is no specific level required for either technology or commercial readiness, but both are judging criteria and higher readiness platforms will score higher. See the prize rules document for specific evaluation criteria. In order to score high, one should have a floating wind platform design for which extensive work has been done to show its viability. Levels of maturity may be demonstrated through engineering and validation activities such as integrated turbine/floating structure system modeling, coupled wind/wave tank testing, front-end engineering design, third-party engineering evaluation, a demonstration project, etc. Competitors should demonstrate the technical feasibility and risks of their floating concept for large-scale wind farm deployment, as well as a level of product engineering readiness and maturity justifying detailed production planning. The focus of the prize is on facilitating U.S. manufacturing of floating offshore wind platforms.
____________________________________________________________
Q: How is the cost of port modifications accounted for in the LCOE calculations? Some designs will not require as much port investment infrastructure enhancements as other concepts.
A: LCOE is not a judging criterion for Phase I. This question will be addressed in more detail in the Rules for Phases II and III. Phase 1 responses should illustrate an understanding of port requirements for manufacturing, assembling and deploying their platform technology, and may highlight features that are anticipated to reduce overall costs compared to other approaches.
____________________________________________________________
Q: Is the goal of the competition based more on the design of the floating wind structure or on the build out of the supply chain?
A: The prize is focused on both elements. The hope is to advance both in unison to identify pathways for developing large-scale commercial deployment of floating offshore wind in the U.S.
____________________________________________________________
Q: Apart from floater design, will innovations in wind turbine be scored?
A: The focus of this prize is on the platform, and not the turbine. Responses pertaining to the ‘Integration Plan” criterion should illustrate that operational interactions with the turbine and tower have been considered, including any potentially beneficial factors that could be verified in conjunction with a turbine OEM.
____________________________________________________________
Q: Installation will be a key issue; will it be reviewed as the same level as fabrication?
A: Both installation and fabrication are important components. One will need to show a pathway to achieving both. Innovations, or development work, can focus on one or the other more, as desired, based on the technology needs.
____________________________________________________________
Q: Can you clarify Mass production? Should mean Fabrication + installation
A: Mass production is the whole process of making products or goods in quantity to be sold (or deployed) as a final output. Manufacturing and fabrication are within the process of production. Installation is the process of installing the product after production is completed. Practicality, ease, and cost-effectiveness of installation are important considerations in product design and commercial viability.
____________________________________________________________
Q: Two units installed per week?
A: The nominal amount of two units per week was mentioned purely an example to illustrate both how different this industry is from other large infrastructure marine industries, and the relative scale of production needed to meet stated U.S. deployment goals.
____________________________________________________________
Q: We are seeing lower LCOE from two 7mW than one 14 MW Can we make that case in application?
A: If one can make a clear commercial argument for deploying a larger number of smaller turbines, rather than fewer larger ones, that is acceptable.
© 2024
