Section 100.10  Authority

 

The Department of Energy and Natural Resources, having been created pursuant to "An Act in relation to natural resources, research, data collection and environmental studies" (Ill. Rev. Stat. 1981, ch. 96 ½, par. 7401(d)), has been designated by the General Assembly to exercise certain powers and perform certain duties in accordance with the Illinois Coal and Energy Development Bond Act (Ill. Rev. Stat. 1981, ch. 96 ½, pars. 4101 et seq.).

 

Section 100.20  Definitions

 

"Act" means "An Act to provide for the financing of a State program for research, development and demonstration in coal and energy; to authorize the issuance and sale of general obligation bonds of the State of Illinois; and to provide for the payment of the principal of and interest on such bonds," which Act is otherwise known as the Illinois Coal and Energy Development Bond Act.

 

"Agreement" means a signed and written document which defines and describes the rights and obligations of the Contractor and the Department in respect to a Project for the Development of Coal and Other Energy Resources.

 

"Application" means that written document submitted by an applicant for State Funding which conforms to the form and content of Section 100.30 hereof.

 

"Bonds" mean the general obligation bonds of the State of Illinois which are authorized to be issued, sold and retired in accordance with the manner set forth in the Act, the aggregate principal amount of which is $70,000,000.

 

"Coal" or "Coal Resources" means coal, coal products or by-products, including electricity, synthetic fuels, gas and liquefaction.

 

The "Commission" means the Illinois Energy Resources Commission which is established pursuant to "An Act creating the Illinois Energy Resources Commission and defining its powers and duties" (Ill. Rev. Stat. 1981, ch. 96½, par. 101).

 

"Contractor" means any business, industrial, university, governmental or other qualified individuals or organizations with whom the Department enters into an Agreement to promote Development of Coal and Other Energy Resources.

 

"Department" means the Department of Energy and Natural Resources of the State of Illinois.

 

"Development of Coal and Other Energy Resources" means research, development and demonstration of improved methods of discovery, production, transportation, sale, distribution, conversion, end-use and waste disposal of Coal and Other Energy Resources.

 

"Director" means the Director of the Department.

 

"Eligible Project" means that Project for which previous approval of the Commission has been granted and for which funds are authorized to be expended pursuant to the purposes specified in the Act (Ill. Rev. Stat. 1981, ch. 96½, par. 4103), which purposes include, but are not limited to, the following:

 

"the commercial application of existing technology for development of coal resources,

 

to initiate or complete development of new technology for development of coal resources, and

 

for planning, design, acquisition, development, construction, improvement and financing a site or sites and facilities for establishing plants, projects or demonstrations for development of coal resources, and research and development of other forms of energy."

 

"Other Forms of Energy" means solar energy, geothermal, wind generation, solid waste or any other energy system except that which is generated by nuclear energy.

 

"Other Funding" is that amount which shall be paid by the Contractor(s) or other Project participants and which, when added to State Funding, shall equal the Total Project Cost.

 

"Project" means the proposal of work to be done as described in the Application.

 

"State Funding" is that portion of Total Project Cost which the Department shall pay to the Contractor(s), the amount of which has received prior approval of the Commission.

 

"Total Project Cost" means all necessary and reasonable costs related to the completion of the Project, but does not include administrative, travel or promotional costs incurred by the Contractor or other Project participants prior to the execution of an Agreement.

 

Section 100.30  Application

 

a)         The Application shall be in writing and consist of one (1) original and five (5) copies which shall be submitted to the Director of the Department of Energy and Natural Resources, 325 West Adams Street, Room 300, Springfield, Illinois 62706.

 

b)         Except as provided in subsection (c) hereof, each Application shall contain categories of information which shall include, but are not limited to, the following:

 

1)         Technical Proposal

 

A)        Table of Contents

 

B)        Synopsis of Proposal

 

C)        Project Objectives

 

D)        Project Schedule by Task

 

E)        Site and Facility Location

 

F)         Process Selection and Design

 

G)        Technical Feasibility of Project

 

H)        Engineering, Procurement, Construction and Operation

 

I)         Product Testing

 

J)         Environmental Feasibility

 

K)        Socio-Economic Impact

 

L)        Future Use of Project Results and Facility

 

M)       Other Relevant Information

 

2)         Business Proposal

 

A)        Table of Contents

 

B)        Summary of Total Project Costs

 

C)        Cost-Sharing Formula including Form and Amount of Other Funding

 

D)        Summary of Estimated Costs by Cost Element

 

E)        Basis of Cost Estimate

 

F)         Schedule of Payments for Total Project Costs

 

G)        Economic Feasibility of Project

 

H)        Management Plan and Experience

 

I)         Previous Work in Project Area

 

J)         Key Personnel and Resources

 

K)        Financial Statement(s) of Applicant

 

L)        Justification of State of Illinois Project Involvement

 

M)       Other Relevant Information

 

c)         If the Applicant determines that any of the Application contents, as described in subsection (b), are irrelevant or not applicable to the proposed Project, the Applicant shall fully explain reasons for that conclusion.

 

d)         The Department may, in its discretion, request the Applicant to furnish information in addition to that which is otherwise required in this Section in order to conduct a proper review.

 

Section 100.40  Department Review Procedures

 

a)         The Application shall be reviewed by the Department and the Director may, in his discretion, obtain the assistance of other persons and entities either within or outside State government to assist in this review procedure.  Such assistance may include professional consultants, such as accountants, architects, attorneys, engineers, planners, etc., applying ordinary professional standards to such review to the extent the Department, pursuant to its administrative abilities, is lacking professional and technical services required to assess feasibility, adequacy, sufficiency and other relevant factors contained in the Application.

 

b)         The time required by the Department to conduct its review of the Application will be determined by some or all of the following factors:

 

1)         the scope and complexity of the proposed Project;

 

2)         the number of other Applications under concurrent review by the Department;

 

3)         the availability of staff and administrative finances of the Department; and

 

4)         the sufficiency and accuracy of the Application.

 

c)         Subsequent to review by the Department, the applicant shall be notified of the conclusion of the Department's evaluation.

 

Section 100.50  State Funding

 

a)         The Department allocates State Funding pursuant to statutory language of the Act, which provides that:

 

"The State of Illinois is authorized to issue, sell and provide for the retirement of general obligation bonds of the State of Illinois in the amount of $70,000,000, hereinafter called "Bonds," $65,000,000 of which shall be for the specific purposes of acquisition, development, construction, reconstruction, improvement, financing, architectural and technical planning and installation of capital facilities consisting of buildings, structures, durable equipment, and land for the purpose of capital development of coal resources, and $5,000,000 of which shall be for research and development of other forms of energy."

 

b)         The Department has the power to recommend an amount of State Funding for a proposed Project to the Commission which amount and which proposed Project must be approved or rejected by the Commission within 45 days of the receipt of the proposal by the Commission.

 

c)         The Department shall exercise its power to recommend an amount of State Funding to the Commission for its approval after

 

1)         making a determination that the Project is a qualifying Project pursuant to Section 100.40 hereof, and

 

2)         consideration of factors which include, but are not limited to, the following:

 

A)        the market potential for the increased use of Illinois Coal, Coal Resources or Other Forms of Energy;

 

B)        the transferability of the proposed Project results to commercial applications capable of utilizing Illinois Coal, Coal Resources or Other Forms of Energy;

 

C)        the potential profit or proprietary benefits which will be derived from the Project by the Contractor and other Project participants, if any;

 

D)        the ability of the Contractor or other Project participants to obtain funding from sources other than the State of Illinois;

 

E)        the amount of State Funding in relation to the amount of Total Project Cost and the amount of other Funding; and

 

F)         the other anticipated direct and indirect benefits of the Project to the State of Illinois.

 

Section 100.60  Agreement

 

Subsequent to Commission determination of an Eligible Project, the Department and the Contractor(s) shall commence to enter into an Agreement, the terms and conditions of which are subject to negotiation between the partners.