As of today: $8,638,579
That money is going at a pretty good clip when you look at the earlier post that still had around $16 million.
Wednesday, November 18, 2009
Thursday, November 5, 2009
What Does Tier 3 Look Like?
Just a visual to help grasp what we're working to accomplish - in addition to getting our customers grant money.
We are a Donaldson filter dealer and while going through their website our Product Support Sales Manager saw this file and forwarded it to the in-house TERP geek, me.
It shows a comparison of particulates released by diesel engines at different tier levels. The top image is on-road and the bottom one applies to off-road like the equipment we sell.
When talking about minute particulates released into the air it is nice to have a visual aid.
We are a Donaldson filter dealer and while going through their website our Product Support Sales Manager saw this file and forwarded it to the in-house TERP geek, me.
It shows a comparison of particulates released by diesel engines at different tier levels. The top image is on-road and the bottom one applies to off-road like the equipment we sell.
When talking about minute particulates released into the air it is nice to have a visual aid.
Watching Those Rebate Grant Funds
The current TERP Rebate Grant round will end at the end of next March or when they run out of funds, whichever comes first. As of 11/2/09 they had a shade under $16 million left.
It will be interesting to watch the rate the funds are awarded. On the one hand it's free money, but I also wonder if most of the low-hanging fruit has already been picked. That's to say, have most of the people who best fit as applicants, who understand the program and who are willing to buy already filed for what they need? Very wait-and-see.
The Rebate Grants don't saddle heavy equipment owners with a requirement of annual hours of use which sounds pretty appealing given the current economic outlook. They also have a shorter turnaround time to funding.
They also do not match the dollar value if your machines run 2,000 hours each year.
The next ERIG round is supposed to be in February or March of 2010. They normally give applicants a 3-month window to submit then take 2-3 months reviewing. If you wait until signing a Notice to Proceed to take possession of a piece that could mean taking ownership in the last quarter of 2010.
Since the Rebate and ERIG rounds are not running concurrently this time I wonder if they plan to stagger them in the future to spread out the administrative workload and to have some kind of grant round open to applicants most months of the year.
It will be interesting to watch the rate the funds are awarded. On the one hand it's free money, but I also wonder if most of the low-hanging fruit has already been picked. That's to say, have most of the people who best fit as applicants, who understand the program and who are willing to buy already filed for what they need? Very wait-and-see.
The Rebate Grants don't saddle heavy equipment owners with a requirement of annual hours of use which sounds pretty appealing given the current economic outlook. They also have a shorter turnaround time to funding.
They also do not match the dollar value if your machines run 2,000 hours each year.
The next ERIG round is supposed to be in February or March of 2010. They normally give applicants a 3-month window to submit then take 2-3 months reviewing. If you wait until signing a Notice to Proceed to take possession of a piece that could mean taking ownership in the last quarter of 2010.
Since the Rebate and ERIG rounds are not running concurrently this time I wonder if they plan to stagger them in the future to spread out the administrative workload and to have some kind of grant round open to applicants most months of the year.
Friday, October 9, 2009
Quick Note on Rebate Grants and Rollers
We filed TERP applications in the past for people wanting to replace dirt or asphalt rollers, but they make up a smaller percentage of what we submit.
One problem is that they often run fewer hours of annual operation which is a key variable in the ERIG grant formula. Sometimes the dollars are still worth it, but not as often as we'd like.
With the rebate grant round opening we've had some interest in trying that approach from roller customers, but there's a problem. The rebate grant round has a list of machine types that are accepted and rollers are not on the list.
I don't have any official statement to reference, but I'm pretty sure that's by design. Since rollers tend to operate fewer hours a year and rebate grants do not factor that in (they use set charts) I think the state would feel like they were overpaying on those grants.
The TCEQ has talked of an ERIG round opening early next Spring so potential roller applicants may want to run an estimate now to see if that would be a worthwhile effort. It's understandably not the news some would like to hear.
One problem is that they often run fewer hours of annual operation which is a key variable in the ERIG grant formula. Sometimes the dollars are still worth it, but not as often as we'd like.
With the rebate grant round opening we've had some interest in trying that approach from roller customers, but there's a problem. The rebate grant round has a list of machine types that are accepted and rollers are not on the list.
I don't have any official statement to reference, but I'm pretty sure that's by design. Since rollers tend to operate fewer hours a year and rebate grants do not factor that in (they use set charts) I think the state would feel like they were overpaying on those grants.
The TCEQ has talked of an ERIG round opening early next Spring so potential roller applicants may want to run an estimate now to see if that would be a worthwhile effort. It's understandably not the news some would like to hear.
Tuesday, October 6, 2009
Rebate Grant Round Underway
As expected the TCEQ has announced the opening of another round of TERP that includes Rebate Grants, but not ERIG.
The round covers the following counties:
Austin Area: Williamson, Travis, Bastrop, Caldwell, and Hays
Beaumont-Port Arthur: Hardin, Orange, and Jefferson
Dallas-Fort Worth: Denton, Collin, Tarrant, Dallas, Rockwall, Kaufman, Ellis, Johnson, and Parker
Houston-Galveston-Brazoria: Brazoria, Fort Bend, Waller, Montgomery, Liberty, Chambers, Galveston, and Harris
San Antonio Area: Comal, Guadalupe, Wilson, and Bexar
Tyler-Longview: Upshur, Gregg, Rusk, Smith and Harrison
That is where the machine needs to work, not where your office needs to be located. We've had customers who office in non-TERP counties get grants. What matters is where a machine operates.
The official web page shows the funding available to be $25.5 million and that is for on-road applications as well.
The round covers the following counties:
Austin Area: Williamson, Travis, Bastrop, Caldwell, and Hays
Beaumont-Port Arthur: Hardin, Orange, and Jefferson
Dallas-Fort Worth: Denton, Collin, Tarrant, Dallas, Rockwall, Kaufman, Ellis, Johnson, and Parker
Houston-Galveston-Brazoria: Brazoria, Fort Bend, Waller, Montgomery, Liberty, Chambers, Galveston, and Harris
San Antonio Area: Comal, Guadalupe, Wilson, and Bexar
Tyler-Longview: Upshur, Gregg, Rusk, Smith and Harrison
That is where the machine needs to work, not where your office needs to be located. We've had customers who office in non-TERP counties get grants. What matters is where a machine operates.
The official web page shows the funding available to be $25.5 million and that is for on-road applications as well.
Friday, September 25, 2009
Rebate Grant Meeting Notes - A 60% Rejection Rate???
The TCEQ hosted a seminar today in Arlington for dealers and consultants who help people file TERP grant applications. There was a special focus on rebate grants.
The next rebate round is supposed to open in October. They did not give a specific date. It sounded like they have to hammer out some application/contract language, but they are getting close. They did confirm that there will not be an ERIG round until next year - probably in February or March.
Today's meeting was largely explaining the forms which are mostly the same. They also took questions as per usual.
The most interesting factoid of the day was this: in the last rebate grant round the TCEQ rejected 60% of all applications because at least one important field was filled out incorrectly.
In other words, likely qualified applicants either had to re-apply for funds or didn't get any at all because the person doing the paperwork made costly errors.
Until now I've held back on buyer-beware warnings when it comes to TERP grant filing assistance. Since I file for our customers it would have come off the wrong way and sounded like I am saying nobody else is qualified so you should only use ROMCO.
I want to be clear that there are other folks out there who do a good job be they consultants or dealers. Unfortunately, I've also seen people who really don't get the system and they don't exactly warn you of their shortcomings.
We all make mistakes now and then, but 60% is awfully high. The state is trying to reduce that figure by doing these classes and pointing out the items that cause the most trouble.
For the most part it's basic stuff like showing the correct grant amount, putting the correct name in a blank or checking a box here and there.
If you are letting somebody assist you in filing don't be afraid to ask them about their qualifications. When it comes time to sign read over your forms take a few minutes to check for obvious mistakes.
Rebate grant rounds usually end when the money runs out and not when the deadline is reached. Depending on when you file and the level of interest state-wide you may not get a second chance. Consider that when you or somebody else files for your grant money.
The next rebate round is supposed to open in October. They did not give a specific date. It sounded like they have to hammer out some application/contract language, but they are getting close. They did confirm that there will not be an ERIG round until next year - probably in February or March.
Today's meeting was largely explaining the forms which are mostly the same. They also took questions as per usual.
The most interesting factoid of the day was this: in the last rebate grant round the TCEQ rejected 60% of all applications because at least one important field was filled out incorrectly.
In other words, likely qualified applicants either had to re-apply for funds or didn't get any at all because the person doing the paperwork made costly errors.
Until now I've held back on buyer-beware warnings when it comes to TERP grant filing assistance. Since I file for our customers it would have come off the wrong way and sounded like I am saying nobody else is qualified so you should only use ROMCO.
I want to be clear that there are other folks out there who do a good job be they consultants or dealers. Unfortunately, I've also seen people who really don't get the system and they don't exactly warn you of their shortcomings.
We all make mistakes now and then, but 60% is awfully high. The state is trying to reduce that figure by doing these classes and pointing out the items that cause the most trouble.
For the most part it's basic stuff like showing the correct grant amount, putting the correct name in a blank or checking a box here and there.
If you are letting somebody assist you in filing don't be afraid to ask them about their qualifications. When it comes time to sign read over your forms take a few minutes to check for obvious mistakes.
Rebate grant rounds usually end when the money runs out and not when the deadline is reached. Depending on when you file and the level of interest state-wide you may not get a second chance. Consider that when you or somebody else files for your grant money.
Wednesday, September 9, 2009
Rebate Grants Soon, ERIG Next Year
The state sent out a notice that it is preparing for the next round of TERP rebate grants. They normally send out a 30-day (at least) notice giving everybody a heads-up of grant rounds on the horizon. That notice came last week for rebate grants.
The TCEQ expects the next ERIG TERP application round to be sometime in the Spring of 2010.
The TCEQ expects the next ERIG TERP application round to be sometime in the Spring of 2010.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
