Current through Register Vol. 63, No. 9, September 1, 2024
(1) Once
the department requests the technical review fee and the applicant has paid the
technical review fee, the department will conduct a technical review of the
alternative fuel vehicle project. If the applicant does not submit the required
technical review fee to the department within 21 calendar days from the date of
the request for payment of the technical review fee, the department may deny
the application.
(2) The
department will review the information provided in the preliminary
certification application against industry standards to determine whether the
project is financially and technically feasible and should operate in
accordance with the representations made by the applicant.
(3) To be eligible, the alternative fuel
vehicle project must meet the following requirements:
(a) The project must meet the requirements of
the statutes, these rules and the Opportunity Announcement.
(b) The applicant must be the owner, contract
purchaser or project lessee at the time of the project's acquisition.
(c) The applicant must be a trade,
business or rental property owner with a business site in Oregon or be an
Oregon non-profit organization, a federally recognized tribe or a public body
as defined in ORS 174.109 that partners with an
Oregon business or resident. The applicant may not restrict membership, sales
or service on the basis of race, color, creed, religion, national origin,
sexual preference or gender.
(d) A
project located at a residential property must be rental property. A rental
property must meet laws related to rental accommodations and contain a dwelling
unit or rooming unit with permanent living facilities. Living facilities
include facilities for sleeping, eating, cooking and sanitation, for one or
more persons, other than the property owner, which is subject to a rental
agreement that provides for meaningful compensation to the owner.
(e) For an alternative fuel vehicle
infrastructure project, applicants must provide anticipated connection and
charging patterns as part of the project description section of the
application.
(f) An electric
charging station project must supply electricity for on-road vehicles.
(g) An alternative fuel vehicle
fleet project must be an eligible on-road vehicle type as described in the
Opportunity Announcement. In the Opportunity Announcement the department will
list the eligible vehicle types from those defined in ORS chapter 801.
(h) An alternative fuel vehicle
fleet project must register the alternative fuel vehicles in Oregon. Where
applicable, registration under the International Registration Plan must have
Oregon as the base jurisdiction.
(i) An alternative fuel vehicle fleet project
for the purchase of new vehicles must replace two or more vehicles and provide
information demonstrating the vehicles being replaced are no longer in the
project owner's fleet or the fleet of any related entity.
(j) An alternative fuel vehicle fleet must
operate in Oregon as specified in the Opportunity Announcement, which will be
at least 75 percent of the operation time.
(k) An alternative fuel vehicle fleet project
may be acquired with a capital lease. The capital lease terms must be at least
five years.
(l) An alternative
fuel vehicle fleet project must include at least one eligible alternative fuel.
(m) An alternative fuel vehicle
fleet conversion or modification project must include new equipment installed
by a qualified technician that is compliant with Environmental Protection
Agency or California Air Resources Board standards.
(4) The department will review the
alternative fuel vehicle project's cost for eligibility to determine qualifying
costs. The application must document total project cost by providing a list of
itemized costs.
(a) Qualifying costs for an
alternative fuel vehicle infrastructure project include:
(A) The cost of components, including all
materials and supplies needed for the erection, construction, installation or
acquisition of the proposed project;
(B) The costs to extend or increase the
capacity of utility connections are only eligible if located within the
property lines of the project location. Qualifying costs for utility
connections for electric vehicle charging stations are also limited by location
to:
(i) $5,000 for a Level 1, 120 volt AC or
similar, electric vehicle charging station.
(ii) $15,000 for a Level 2, 240 volt AC or
similar, electric vehicle charging station.
(iii) $30,000 for a DC Fast Charger, or
similar, electric vehicle charging station.
(C) Fees to design or engineer the project;
(D) The cost of title searches,
escrow fees, permit and license fees, excluding fees required by this rule, and
shipping;
(E) Cost of work
performed by the applicant's employees or independent contractors if the
following conditions are met:
(i) Employees
or contractors must be certified, accredited, licensed or otherwise qualified
to do the work;
(ii) The work must
be associated with the erection, construction, installation or acquisition of
the alternative fuel vehicle infrastructure project;
(iii) Project management and other similar
costs may only account for up to 15 percent of the qualifying costs; and
(iv) Costs for employees' or
contractors' work on the alternative fuel vehicle infrastructure project must
be detailed and documented as to specific tasks, hours worked and compensation
costs.
(F) Costs for
legal counsel that are directly related to the development of an alternative
fuel vehicle infrastructure project;
(G) Costs of training associated with the
alternative fuel vehicle infrastructure project that is approved by the
department; and
(H) Other costs
the department determines should be included.
(b) Qualifying costs for an alternative fuel
vehicle fleet project include:
(A)
Incremental expenditure of new alternative fuel vehicles.
(B) Vehicle modification cost directly
related to converting the fuel system of the vehicle to use alternative fuel,
which are limited to new conversion component costs and labor to install the
new components.
(C) Other costs
the department determines should be included.
(c) Qualifying alternative fuel vehicle costs
do not include:
(A) Interest and warranty
charges;
(B) Litigation or other
operational-related legal fees and court costs;
(C) Intellectual property search, application
and filing payments;
(D) Donated,
in-kind or volunteer labor and materials;
(E) Administrative costs to apply for grants,
loans, tax credits or other similar funding for an alternative fuel vehicle
project including, but not limited to the tax credit review charge, costs
associated with the creation and development of the certified public accountant
attestation letter and costs associated with securing a pass-through partner
for the project;
(F) Routine
operational, routine maintenance and repair costs associated with the
alternative fuel vehicle project;
(G) Expenses that are deemed not to have a
benefit to the alternative fuel vehicle project, including but not limited to,
fines, penalties, entertainment, food, alcohol, gifts and lobbying;
(H) Any portion of the cost for an
alternative fuel vehicle project that has previously received a tax credit or
grant under ORS chapters 469 or 469B; and
(J) Other costs the department determines
should be excluded.
(d)
The department may do inspections to verify information reported on the
preliminary certification application.
(e) An applicant may incur qualifying costs
prior to the submission of an application, but may not begin installation or
construction.
(5) If an
application does not include all information needed to complete the technical
review, the department may notify the applicant in writing, requesting
additional information. If the department does not receive the requested
information within 30 calendar days of the date of the notice, the department
may deny the application.
(6) The
department will notify the applicant in writing if the department denies the
application during the technical review.
(7) If the department denies the application
or reduces the tax credit during the technical review, the applicant may
request reconsideration in writing within 60 days from the date of denial or
reduction.
Stat. Auth.: ORS
469.040,
469B.326,
469B.332,
469B.347
Stats. Implemented: ORS
315.336 & 469B.320 -
469B.347
