[RE-wrenches] Fed. 30% grant to businesses

[Carl Adams]

Wrenches,

I was just complementing the US Treasury on there swift response to
the grant application.

My customer submitted his application on the 13th of January.  We
received this response on the 26th (10 business days later).
===================================================
From: treas1603 at nrel.gov [mailto:treas1603 at nrel.gov]
Sent: Tuesday, January 26, 2010 5:14 PM
To: XXXXXXX
Cc: XXXXXXX
Subject: U.S. Treasury Department - Application for Section 1603:
Application 2010E48SE001649 Issues
Thank you for submitting an application for the Department of
Treasury's Section 1603 program, Payments for Specified Energy
Property in Lieu of Tax Credits under the American Recovery and
Reinvestment Act of 2009.  In reviewing your application, we have a
request for further information.
2C. Interconnection agreement: Page 10 of the Program Guidance
indicates that an interconnection agreement is required for properties
placed in service that are interconnected with a utility.  The
interconnection agreement is a formal document between the applicant
and the local utility that establishes the terms and conditions under
which the utility agrees to interconnect with the applicant’s system.
Please provide the full-length interconnection agreement signed by the
utility and applicant.

2C. Commissioning report: Page 9 of the Program Guidance indicates
that a commissioning report is required for all properties placed in
service.   The commissioning report is a report provided by the
project engineer, or the equipment vendor, or an independent third
party that certifies that the equipment has been installed, tested,
and is ready and capable of being used for its intended purpose.
Please provide a signed and dated commissioning report.  A
commissioning report can be provided by the installer.
============================================
Our local Utility does not provide a Interconnect Agreement signed by
both parties but were happy to oblige to fulfill the Treasury
requirement.

I wrote up a brief 2 page report on our commissioning process and
signed it to fulfill the commissioning report.

These were forwarded back to Treasury on 29 January.
We received this response on 26 Feb  (20 business days later) and we
have to give them credit for three snow days in D.C. so 17 business
days later.
======================================================================
________________________________________
From: treas1603 at nrel.gov [mailto:treas1603 at nrel.gov]
Sent: Friday, February 26, 2010 3:22 PM
To: XXXX
Cc: treas1603 at nrel.gov
Subject: U.S. Treasury Department - Application for Section 1603:
Application 2010E48SE001649 Awarded

Section 1603 AWARD LETTER	

(XXXX: , Cincinnati, OH, 45209)
Re: Section 1603 Payment for Specified Energy Property in Lieu of Tax
Credits for Treasury Application Number 2010E48SE001649 – Award Notice
Dear XXXXX:
The United States Department of the Treasury (Treasury) is pleased to
inform you that the above-referenced application for payment in the
amount of ($78,579.00) for Specified Energy Property in Lieu of Tax
Credits is approved.   This payment is authorized under Section 1603
of Division B of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009.
This notice constitutes official notification of the award and
together with your submitted application, supporting documentation,
and signed Terms and Conditions constitutes the Grant Agreement
between Treasury and you.   Acceptance of this award, including the
Terms and Conditions, is acknowledged by the awardee when funds are
accepted from Treasury.  All awards are subject to further monitoring
and audit to ensure compliance.
You should receive the payment in your bank account within five
business days of the date of this letter.  The payment will be
deposited in the bank account that is listed in the Central Contractor
Registration (CCR).

Sincerely,

Richard L. Gregg

Acting Fiscal Assistant Secretary
===================================================================

My customer received the deposit in his bank account today March 4th.
He's a happy camper!

I forgot that there was one more issue which the customer dealt with
having to do with his name not being associated with the companies
DUNS # (even though he is the majority owner and President).  I'm glad
I did not have to be in the middle of that.  I'm not sure how much
time this chewed up so subtract some days from the above wait.....

While it's not lightning speed I think the response from Treasury was
reasonable, and the fact that all the documentation and correspondence
has been handled electronically, it seems to be working better than
many other government programs I am aware of.

Cheers
Carl