Energy Conservation Standards for Automatic Commercial Ice Makers: Availability of Revised Rulemaking Analysis, 54215-54218 [2014-21688]

Agencies

• DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY

[Federal Register Volume 79, Number 176 (Thursday, September 11, 2014)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 54215-54218]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2014-21688]



[[Page 54215]]

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DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY

10 CFR Part 431

[Docket No. EERE-2010-BT-STD-0037]
RIN 1904-AC39


Energy Conservation Standards for Automatic Commercial Ice 
Makers: Availability of Revised Rulemaking Analysis

AGENCY: Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy, Department of 
Energy (DOE).

ACTION: Notice of data availability (NODA); request for comment.

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SUMMARY: The Energy Policy and Conservation Act of 1975 (EPCA), as 
amended, prescribes energy conservation standards for various consumer 
products and certain commercial and industrial equipment, including 
automatic commercial ice makers. EPCA also requires DOE to determine 
whether more stringent, amended standards would be technologically 
feasible and economically justified, and would save a significant 
amount of energy. DOE proposed amended energy conservation standards 
for automatic commercial ice makers in a notice of proposed rulemaking 
(NOPR) published on March 17, 2014. DOE has since updated its proposed 
rulemaking analysis estimating the potential economic impacts and 
energy savings that could result from promulgating an amended energy 
conservation standard for automatic commercial ice makers. This notice 
announces the availability of this analysis to give stakeholders an 
opportunity to review the revised proposed rulemaking analysis and its 
results, and to give stakeholders an opportunity to comment.

DATES: DOE will accept comments, data, and information regarding this 
NODA submitted no later than October 14, 2014.

ADDRESSES: Any comments submitted must identify the Notice of Data 
Availability for Automatic Commercial Ice Makers, and provide docket 
number EERE-2010-BT-STD-0037 and/or regulatory information number (RIN) 
1904-AC39. Comments may be submitted using any of the following 
methods:
    1. Federal eRulemaking Portal: www.regulations.gov. Follow the 
instructions for submitting comments.
    2. Email: ACIM-2010-STD-0037@ee.doe.gov. Include docket EERE-2010-
BT-STD-0037 and/or RIN 1904-AC39 in the subject line of the message.
    3. Mail: Ms. Brenda Edwards, U.S. Department of Energy, Building 
Technologies Program, Mailstop EE-5B, 1000 Independence Avenue SW., 
Washington, DC 20585-0121. If possible, please submit all items on a 
compact disc (CD), in which case it is not necessary to include printed 
copies.
    4. Hand Delivery/Courier: Ms. Brenda Edwards, U.S. Department of 
Energy, Building Technologies Program, 6th Floor, 950 L'Enfant Plaza 
SW., Washington, DC 20024. Telephone: (202) 586-2945. If possible, 
please submit all items on a CD, in which case it is not necessary to 
include printed copies.
    Docket: The docket is available for review at www.regulations.gov, 
including Federal Register notices, public meeting attendee lists and 
transcripts, comments, and other supporting documents/materials. All 
documents in the docket are listed in the www.regulations.gov index. 
However, not all documents listed in the index may be publicly 
available, such as information that is exempt from public disclosure.
    A link to the docket Web page can be found at: https://www.regulations.gov/#!docketDetail;D=EERE-2010-BT-STD-0037. The 
regulations.gov Web page contains instructions on how to access all 
documents in the docket, including public comments.
    For further information on how to review the docket, contact Ms. 
Brenda Edwards at (202) 586-2945 or by email: 
Brenda.Edwards@ee.doe.gov.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Mr. John Cymbalsky, U.S. Department of Energy, Office of Energy 
Efficiency and Renewable Energy, Building Technologies, EE-2B, 1000 
Independence Avenue SW., Washington, DC 20585-0121. Telephone: (202) 
287-1692. Email: 
automaticcommercialicemakers@ee.doe.gov.
Ms. Sarah Butler, U.S. Department of Energy, Office of the General 
Counsel, Mailstop GC-71, 1000 Independence Avenue SW., Washington, DC 
20585-0121. Telephone: (202) 586-1777. Email: Sarah.Butler@hq.doe.gov.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Table of Contents

I. Authority and Background
II. Current Status
III. Summary of Updated Rulemaking Analyses
IV. Public Participation

I. Authority and Background

    Title III, Part C \1\ of the Energy Policy and Conservation Act of 
1975 (EPCA or the Act), Public Law 94-163 (42 U.S.C. 6311-6317, as 
codified), established the Energy Conservation Program for Certain 
Industrial Equipment, a program covering certain industrial 
equipment,\2\ which includes the focus of this notice: Automatic 
commercial ice makers.
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    \1\ For editorial reasons, upon codification in the U.S. Code, 
Part C was re-designated Part A-1.
    \2\ All references to EPCA in this document refer to the statute 
as amended through the American Energy Manufacturing Technical 
Corrections Act (AEMTCA), Public Law 112-210 (Dec. 18, 2012).
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    EPCA prescribes energy conservation standards for cube type 
automatic commercial ice makers with harvest rates between 50 and 2,500 
pounds of ice per 24 hours. (42 U.S.C. 6313(d)(1)) These standards are 
set out for specific equipment types: Self-contained ice makers using 
air or water for cooling, ice-making heads using air or water for 
cooling, and remote condensing ice makers with or without a remote 
compressor. Id. In a final rule published on October 18, 2005, DOE 
adopted the energy conservation standards and water conservation 
standards pursuant to this section and placed them under 10 CFR part 
431, subpart H, Automatic Commercial Ice Makers. 70 FR 60407, 60415-16.
    EPCA requires DOE to review these standards and determine, by 
January 1, 2015, whether amending the applicable standards is 
technologically feasible and economically justified. (42 U.S.C. 
6313(d)(3)(A)) If amended standards are technologically feasible and 
economically justified, DOE must issue a final rule by the same date. 
(42 U.S.C. 6313(d)(3)(B)) EPCA also grants DOE authority to conduct 
rulemakings to establish new standards for automatic commercial ice 
makers not covered by 42 U.S.C. 6313(d)(1). (42 U.S.C. 6313(d)(2)(A)) 
Pursuant to this authority, DOE identified additional automatic 
commercial ice maker types as candidates for standards to be 
established in this rulemaking. These include flake and nugget ice 
makers (collectively ``continuous'' ice makers), as well as batch type 
ice makers that are not included in the EPCA standards set for cube 
type ice makers, such as machines with harvest rates greater than 2,500 
pounds ice per 24 hours.
    DOE initiated the current rulemaking on November 4, 2010 by 
publishing on its Web site the ``Rulemaking Framework for Automatic 
Commercial Ice Makers.'' (The Framework document is available at: 
www1.eere.energy.gov/buildings/appliancestandards/

[[Page 54216]]

commercial/pdfs/
acimframework20101104.pdf). DOE 
published a notice in the Federal Register announcing the availability 
of the Framework document, as well as a public meeting to discuss the 
document. The notice also solicited comment on the matters raised in 
the document. 75 FR 70852 (Nov. 19, 2010). The Framework document 
described the procedural and analytical approaches that DOE anticipated 
using to evaluate energy conservation standards for automatic 
commercial ice makers, and identified various issues to be resolved in 
the rulemaking.
    DOE held a public meeting on December 16, 2010, at which it: (1) 
Presented the contents of the Framework document; (2) described the 
analyses it planned to conduct during the rulemaking; (3) sought 
comments from interested parties on these subjects; and (4) in general, 
sought to inform interested parties about, and facilitate their 
involvement in, the rulemaking. Major issues discussed at the public 
meeting included: (1) The scope of coverage for the rulemaking; (2) 
equipment classes; (3) analytical approaches and methods used in the 
rulemaking; (4) impacts of standards and burden on manufacturers; (5) 
technology options; (6) distribution channels, shipments, and end 
users; (7) impacts of outside regulations; and (8) environmental 
issues. At the meeting and during the comment period on the Framework 
document, DOE received many comments that assisted in identifying and 
resolving issues relevant to this rulemaking.
    DOE then gathered additional information and performed preliminary 
analyses to review potential energy conservation standard levels for 
this equipment. This process culminated in DOE publishing notice of a 
second public meeting (the January 2012 notice) to discuss and receive 
comments regarding the tools and methods DOE used in performing its 
preliminary analysis, as well as the preliminary analyses results. 77 
FR 3404 (Jan. 24, 2012). DOE also invited written comments on these 
subjects and announced the availability on its Web site of a 
preliminary analysis technical support document (preliminary TSD). Id. 
(The preliminary TSD is available at: https://www.regulations.gov/#!documentDetail;D=EERE-2010-BT-STD-0037-0026.) Finally, DOE sought 
comments concerning other relevant issues that could affect amended 
energy conservation standards for automatic commercial ice makers, or 
that DOE should address in this rulemaking. Id.
    The preliminary TSD provided an overview of DOE's review of the 
standards for automatic commercial ice makers, discussed the comments 
DOE received in response to the Framework document, and addressed 
issues including the scope of coverage of the rulemaking. The document 
also described the analytical framework used in this rulemaking to 
consider amended standards for automatic commercial ice makers, 
including a description of the methodology, the analytical tools, and 
the relationships between the various analyses that are part of this 
rulemaking. In addition, the preliminary TSD presented in detail each 
analysis that DOE performed for this equipment, including descriptions 
of inputs, sources, methodologies, and results. These analyses, which 
are described in greater detail in the preliminary TSD, included (1) a 
market and technology assessment, (2) a screening analysis, (3) an 
engineering analysis, (4) an energy and water use analysis, (5) a 
markups analysis, (6) a life-cycle cost (LCC) analysis, (7) a payback 
period (PBP) analysis, (8) a shipments analysis, (9) a national impact 
analysis (NIA), and (10) a preliminary manufacturer impact analysis 
(MIA).
    DOE presented the methodologies and results of the analyses set 
forth in the preliminary TSD at a public meeting held on February 16, 
2012 (February 2012 public meeting). Interested parties provided 
comments on the following issues: (1) Equipment classes; (2) technology 
options; (3) energy modeling and validation of engineering models; (4) 
cost modeling; (5) market information, including distribution channels 
and distribution mark-ups; (6) efficiency levels; (7) life-cycle costs 
to customers, including installation, repair and maintenance costs, and 
water and wastewater prices; and (8) historical shipments.
    Following the February 2012 public meeting, DOE updated and revised 
inputs and performed analyses to establish proposed energy conservation 
standards for automatic commercial ice makers, which were presented in 
the notice of proposed rulemaking (NOPR) published on March 17, 2014. 
79 FR 14845. The NOPR outlined the proposed standard levels, discussed 
the comments received in response to the preliminary analysis document, 
and presented the results of the NOPR analysis. The NOPR also included 
employment, utility, emissions, social cost of carbon, manufacturer 
impact, and regulatory impact analyses. In addition, the NOPR announced 
a public meeting, which was held on April 14, 2014, to discuss and 
receive comments regarding the tools and methods DOE used in the NOPR 
analysis, as well as the results of that analysis. DOE also invited 
written comments and announced the availability of a NOPR analysis 
technical support document (NOPR TSD). Id. (The NOPR TSD is available 
at: https://www.regulations.gov/#!documentDetail;D=EERE-2010-BT-STD-
0037-0061).
    The NOPR TSD described in detail DOE's analysis of potential 
standard levels for automatic commercial ice makers. The document also 
described the analytical framework used in considering standard levels, 
including a description of the methodology, the analytical tools, and 
the relationships between the various analyses. Additionally, it 
presented each analysis that DOE performed to evaluate automatic 
commercial ice makers, including descriptions of inputs, sources, 
methodologies, and results. DOE included the same analyses that were 
conducted at the preliminary analysis stage, with revisions based on 
comments received and additional research.
    At the public meeting held on April 14, 2014, DOE presented the 
methodologies and results of the analyses set forth in the NOPR TSD. 
Interested parties provided comments on a variety of different areas. 
Some key issues raised by stakeholders included: (1) Whether the energy 
model accurately predicts efficiency improvements associated with 
design options; (2) the size restrictions and applications of 22-inch 
wide ice makers; (3) the efficiency distributions assumed for shipments 
of ice makers; and (4) the impact on manufacturers relating to redesign 
of ice maker models, in light of the proposed compliance date of 3 
years after publication of the final rule.
    In response to comments regarding the energy model used in the 
analysis, DOE held a public meeting on June 19, 2014 in order to 
facilitate an additional review of the model, gather additional 
feedback and data on the energy model, and to allow for a more thorough 
explanation of DOE's use of the model in the engineering analysis. 79 
FR 33877 (June 13, 2014). At that meeting, DOE presented the energy 
model, demonstrated its operation, and described how it was used in the 
rulemaking's engineering analysis. DOE indicated in this meeting that 
it is considering modifications to its NOPR analyses based on the NOPR 
comments and additional research and information-gathering. (The 
material for the June 2014 public meeting is available at https://
www.regulations.gov/

[[Page 54217]]

!documentDetail;D=EERE-2010-BT-STD-0037-00109.)

II. Current Status

    DOE is considering the information obtained through stakeholder 
comments and through additional research and information-gathering. The 
purpose of this NODA is to notify industry, manufacturers, customer 
groups, efficiency advocates, government agencies, and other 
stakeholders of the availability of the revised rulemaking analysis and 
results, as well as the effect of that information on the analyses 
prepared in support of the previously published proposed rule.
    The comments received since publication of the March 2014 NOPR, 
including those received at the April 2014 and the June 2014 public 
meetings, provided inputs which led DOE to revise its analyses. 
Stakeholders also submitted additional information to DOE's consultant 
pursuant to non-disclosure agreements regarding efficiency gains and 
costs of potential design options. In addition, DOE reviewed additional 
market data, including published ratings of available ice makers, to 
recalibrate its engineering analysis. Generally, the revisions include 
modifications of inputs for its engineering, LCC, and NIA analyses, 
adjustment of its energy model calculations, and more thorough 
consideration of size-constrained ice maker applications. The analysis 
revisions addressing size-constrained applications included development 
of engineering analyses for three size-constrained equipment categories 
and restructuring of the LCC and NIA analyses to consider size 
constraints for applicable equipment classes.
    Stakeholders commented at the April 2014 public meeting and in 
written comments on the importance of DOE allowing them an opportunity 
to review and comment on potential revisions of the analyses. (See, 
e.g., AHRI, No. 93 at p. 1) In response to these comments, DOE is 
issuing this NODA to announce the availability of the revised analysis 
DOE developed to support an amended energy conservation standard for 
automatic commercial ice makers, as described in section III. DOE may 
revise the analysis presented in today's NODA based on any new 
information or data obtained between now and the publication of the 
final rule concerning energy conservation standards for automatic 
commercial ice makers. DOE encourages stakeholders to provide any 
additional data or information that may improve the analysis no later 
than October 14, 2014.

III. Summary of Updated Rulemaking Analyses

    DOE conducted analyses of automatic commercial ice makers in the 
following areas: (1) Engineering; (2) life-cycle cost and payback 
period; and (3) national impacts. The revised rulemaking analyses and 
their respective results (engineering, life-cycle cost, and national 
impacts spreadsheets) are available at: https://www1.eere.energy.gov/
buildings/appliancestandards/rulemaking.aspx/ruleid/29.\3\ 
Each spreadsheet includes an introduction describing the various inputs 
and outputs to the analysis, as well as operation instructions. Also 
available on the DOE Web site is a document outlining the LCC/PBP and 
NIA results, a document defining the trial standard levels (TSLs) 
levels that DOE considered in the NODA analyses, and a spreadsheet with 
charts showing the TSLs' energy use as functions of harvest capacity.
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    \3\ These spreadsheets are also available on the rulemaking 
docket at https://www.regulations.gov/#!docketDetail;D=EERE-2010-BT-
STD-0037. However, the regulations.gov docket does not support 
macro-enabled files. The fully-functional files with macros-enabled 
are available on the Department of Energy Web site: https://
www1.eere.energy.gov/buildings/appliancestandards/
rulemaking.aspx/ruleid/29.
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    Summary of Changes to the Engineering Analysis:
     Based on new test data, DOE made changes to the `Percent 
Energy Use Reduction' values associated with individual design options. 
These new values are included in the Engineering Results spreadsheet 
(column D of the `Design Option Curves' tab). The `Updated Analysis' 
tab details which design options were changed as a result of new test 
data obtained through (1) Non-Disclosure Agreements with DOE's 
engineering contractor and (2) comments made during the NOPR comment 
period.
     Based on new cost data, DOE made changes to the 
`Individual cost' values associated with individual design options. 
These new values are included in the Engineering Results spreadsheet 
(column I of the `Design Option Curves' tab). The `Updated Analysis' 
tab details which design options were changed as a result of new data 
obtained through 1) Non-Disclosure Agreements with DOE's engineering 
contractor and 2) comments made during the NOPR comment period.
     Based on comments made during the NOPR period, DOE added 
additional cost-efficiency curves for 22-inch width units in the IMH-A-
Small-B, IMH-A-Large-B, and IMH-W-Small-B equipment classes, and an 
additional cost-efficiency curve for the RCU-Small-C equipment class. 
The new cost-efficiency curves are described in Engineering Results 
spreadsheet (`Design Option Curves' tab).
     Summary of Changes to the Life-Cycle Cost and Payback 
Period: As described above, the engineering analysis examined design 
options and efficiency level improvements for 22-inch units for three 
equipment classes under a scenario where no increase in equipment size 
was considered, resulting in two separate cost-efficiency curves (space 
constrained and non-space constrained). For the LCC/PBP analysis and 
the NIA, a major source of change was the integration of these two 
curves for these equipment classes.
     A related source of change was assessing whether the 
impact of equipment cabinet size increases impose additional 
installation costs on customers.
     Other revisions include the inclusion of additional 
installation costs for certain other efficiency improvements (drain 
water heat exchangers and larger condensers in remote condenser units), 
changes in the calculation of repair costs to explicitly identify labor 
and material components, changes to the efficiency distribution of 
equipment in the baseline market, and changes to the utilization factor 
used to determine electricity and water usage.
    The changes to the LCC and NIA are described in the document 
entitled ACIM NODA tabulated LCC-NIA results.

IV. Public Participation

    DOE is interested in receiving comments on all aspects of the data 
and analysis presented in the NODA and supporting documentation that 
can be found at: https://www1.eere.energy.gov/buildings/
appliancestandards/rulemaking.aspx/ruleid/29.
    DOE is particularly interested in receiving comments on the changes 
that were made to the engineering and LCC-NIA as described in Section 
III.

Submission of Comments

    DOE will accept comments, data, and information regarding this 
notice no later than the date provided in the DATES section at the 
beginning of this notice. Interested parties may submit comments, data, 
and other information using any of the methods described in the 
ADDRESSES section at the beginning of this notice.
    Submitting comments via www.regulations.gov. The 
www.regulations.gov Web page will require you to provide your name and 
contact information. Your contact

[[Page 54218]]

information will be viewable to DOE Building Technologies staff only. 
Your contact information will not be publicly viewable except for your 
first and last names, organization name (if any), and submitter 
representative name (if any). If your comment is not processed properly 
because of technical difficulties, DOE will use this information to 
contact you. If DOE cannot read your comment due to technical 
difficulties and cannot contact you for clarification, DOE may not be 
able to consider your comment.
    However, your contact information will be publicly viewable if you 
include it in the comment itself or in any documents attached to your 
comment. Any information that you do not want to be publicly viewable 
should not be included in your comment, nor in any document attached to 
your comment. Otherwise, persons viewing comments will see only first 
and last names, organization names, correspondence containing comments, 
and any documents submitted with the comments.
    Do not submit to www.regulations.gov information for which 
disclosure is restricted by statute, such as trade secrets and 
commercial or financial information (hereinafter referred to as 
Confidential Business Information (CBI)). Comments submitted through 
www.regulations.gov cannot be claimed as CBI. Comments received through 
the Web site will waive any CBI claims for the information submitted. 
For information on submitting CBI, see the Confidential Business 
Information section below.
    DOE processes submissions made through www.regulations.gov before 
posting. Normally, comments will be posted within a few days of being 
submitted. However, if large volumes of comments are being processed 
simultaneously, your comment may not be viewable for up to several 
weeks. Please keep the comment tracking number that www.regulations.gov 
provides after you have successfully uploaded your comment.
    Submitting comments via email, hand delivery/courier, or mail. 
Comments and documents submitted via email, hand delivery, or mail also 
will be posted to www.regulations.gov. If you do not want your personal 
contact information to be publicly viewable, do not include it in your 
comment or any accompanying documents. Instead, provide your contact 
information in a cover letter. Include your first and last names, email 
address, telephone number, and optional mailing address. The cover 
letter will not be publicly viewable as long as it does not include any 
comments
    Include contact information each time you submit comments, data, 
documents, and other information to DOE. If you submit via mail or hand 
delivery/courier, please provide all items on a CD, if feasible, in 
which case it is not necessary to submit printed copies. No facsimiles 
(faxes) will be accepted.
    Comments, data, and other information submitted to DOE 
electronically should be provided in PDF (preferred), Microsoft Word or 
Excel, WordPerfect, or text (ASCII) file format. Provide documents that 
are not secured, that are written in English, and that are free of any 
defects or viruses. Documents should not contain special characters or 
any form of encryption and, if possible, they should carry the 
electronic signature of the author.
    Campaign form letters. Please submit campaign form letters by the 
originating organization in batches of between 50 to 500 form letters 
per PDF or as one form letter with a list of supporters' names compiled 
into one or more PDFs. This reduces comment processing and posting 
time.
    Confidential Business Information. Pursuant to 10 CFR 1004.11, any 
person submitting information that he or she believes to be 
confidential and exempt by law from public disclosure should submit two 
well-marked copies: one copy of the document marked ``confidential'' 
including all the information believed to be confidential, and one copy 
of the document marked ``non-confidential'' with the information 
believed to be confidential deleted. DOE will make its own 
determination about the confidential status of the information and 
treat it according to its determination.
    Factors of interest to DOE when evaluating requests to treat 
submitted information as confidential include: (1) A description of the 
items; (2) whether and why such items are customarily treated as 
confidential within the industry; (3) whether the information is 
generally known by or available from other sources; (4) whether the 
information has previously been made available to others without 
obligation concerning its confidentiality; (5) an explanation of the 
competitive injury to the submitting person which would result from 
public disclosure; (6) when such information might lose its 
confidential character due to the passage of time; and (7) why 
disclosure of the information would be contrary to the public interest.
    It is DOE's policy that all comments may be included in the public 
docket, without change and as received, including any personal 
information provided in the comments (except information deemed to be 
exempt from public disclosure).

    Issued in Washington, DC, on August 5, 2014.
Kathleen B. Hogan,
Deputy Assistance Secretary for Energy Efficiency, Energy Efficiency 
and Renewable Energy.
[FR Doc. 2014-21688 Filed 9-10-14; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6450-01-P