On February 22, 2024, Plant Engineering hosted a webcast on “Motors and drives: How to take advantage of the new rebate program.” After the presentation, Alison Maginot and Kirk Anderson answered questions from the audience. The following are questions that weren’t answered during the live event.

Question: Can I apply for multiple rebates?

Answer: Yes. Each system for which a qualified entity seeks to receive a rebate needs to be submitted individually. The only limits are related to date of acquistition/installation and the $25,000 cap for a single facility. It is also worth noting that a qualified entity is not prohibited from submitting applications for multiple sites, each facility has a $25,000 rebate cap (per calendar year).

Question: Is non-clean water covered?

Answer: Non-clean water applications are not prohibited in the guidance. However, only clean-water pumps would be expected to have the DOE PEIvl rating (or an ER value). That said, it is possible that a qualified EPS was incorportated into a larger (non-clean water application) which should still be eligible for a rebate. For a Class 2 (retrofit) rebate application, no exclusion on whether it served clean (or non-clean water) applications is specified, so provided the retrofit application meets the requirements (typically related to the electronic control and bypassing of valves), the upgrade should fall under the scope of the program.

Question: For documentation if the EPS was installed as part of a larger project, what is an acceptable proof of payment?

Answer: According to the guidance, a copy of the invoice or a proof of payment are both acceptable means of meeting this requirement. The invoice for the overall system (with the EPS aspect highlighted) might be one way to meet the program requirements.

Question: Did you say that if you have made multiple upgrades, you should submit all of them?

Answer: If a qualified entity has made multiple upgrades to the same system, you should submit one application that covers all upgrades to that single system. However, if you have made upgrades to multiple (separate) systems, you will need to submit an application of each system separately.

Question: Regarding FEI documentation what documentation is required. I’m guesing the FEI value of the fan on the fan mfg letterhead?

Answer: The guidance indicates “Documentation supporting the qualified FEI was calculated according to AMCA 214-21 and verified by a third party for fans.” Based on this, we believe another entity (besides the manufacturer) would need to attest to the fan meeting the minimum FEI levels.

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