Request for Information: Geothermal Workforce Education Development and Retention, 74712-74713 [E8-29087]

Download as PDF 74712 Federal Register / Vol. 73, No. 237 / Tuesday, December 9, 2008 / Notices DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE GENERAL SERVICES ADMINISTRATION NATIONAL AERONAUTICS AND SPACE ADMINISTRATION [OMB Control No. 9000–0067] Federal Acquisition Regulation; Information Collection; Incentive Contracts pwalker on PROD1PC71 with NOTICES AGENCIES: Department of Defense (DOD), General Services Administration (GSA), and National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA). ACTION: Notice of request for public comments regarding an extension to an existing OMB clearance. SUMMARY: Under the provisions of the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (44 U.S.C. Chapter 35), the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) Secretariat will be submitting to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) a request to review and approve an extension of a currently approved information collection requirement concerning incentive contracts. The clearance currently expires on December 31, 2008. Public comments are particularly invited on: Whether this collection of information is necessary for the proper performance of functions of the FAR, and whether it will have practical utility; whether our estimate of the public burden of this collection of information is accurate, and based on valid assumptions and methodology; ways to enhance the quality, utility, and clarity of the information to be collected; and ways in which we can minimize the burden of the collection of information on those who are to respond, through the use of appropriate technological collection techniques or other forms of information technology. DATES: Submit comments on or before February 9, 2009. ADDRESSES: Submit comments regarding this burden estimate or any other aspect of this collection of information, including suggestions for reducing this burden to the General Services Administration, FAR Secretariat (VPR), 1800 F Street, NW., Room 4041, Washington, DC 20405. FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Warren Blankenship, Contract Policy Division, GSA (202) 501–1900. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: A. Purpose Incentive contracts are normally used when a firm fixed-price contract is not VerDate Aug<31>2005 17:00 Dec 08, 2008 Jkt 217001 appropriate and the required supplies or services can be acquired at lower costs, and sometimes with improved delivery or technical performance, by relating the amount of profit or fee payable under the contract to the contractor’s performance. The information required periodically from the contractor, such as cost of work already performed, estimated costs of further performance necessary to complete all work, total contract price for supplies or services accepted by the Government for which final prices have been established, and estimated costs allocable to supplies or services accepted by the Government and for which final prices have not been established, is needed to negotiate the final prices of incentive-related items and services. The contracting officer evaluates the information received to determine the contractor’s performance in meeting the incentive target and the appropriate price revision, if any, for the items or services. B. Annual Reporting Burden Respondents: 3,000. Responses per Respondent: 1. Annual Responses: 3,000. Hours per Response: 1. Total Burden Hours: 3,000. Obtaining Copies of Proposals: Requesters may obtain a copy of the information collection documents from the General Services Administration, FAR Secretariat (VPR), Room 4041, 1800 F Street, NW., Washington, DC 20405, telephone (202) 501–4755. Please cite OMB Control No. 9000–0067, Incentive Contracts, in all correspondence. Dated: November 26, 2008. Rhonda Cundiff, Acting Director, Office of Acquisition Policy. [FR Doc. E8–29049 Filed 12–8–08; 8:45 am] BILLING CODE 6820–EP–P DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY Request for Information: Geothermal Workforce Education Development and Retention AGENCY: Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy, Department of Energy (DOE). ACTION: Notice of Request for Information (DE–PS36–09GO39004). SUMMARY: The Department of Energy (DOE) gives notice of a Request for Information (RFI), seeking innovative ways for industry and educators to work together in addressing important challenges in the geothermal program; under authorities such as 42 U.S.C. PO 00000 Frm 00030 Fmt 4703 Sfmt 4703 Section 7381(b) of the Department of Energy Education Enhancement Act, and the Energy Policy Act of 2005, Section 931(a)(2)(C). The Federal government and industry must address the growing inadequacy of workforce competencies due to the small size of the existing geothermal industry and the competition for human resources, as the geothermal industry competes with the oil and gas industry for qualified personnel. The limited capability for meeting a critical need in qualified personnel is compounded by the current lack of formal university degree programs. This RFI seeks input regarding future GTP funding, potential initiatives within the industry and in the classroom, and with DOE administrative efforts. DATES: Written comments must be received by January 30, 2009. ADDRESSES: Send all responses to this RFI to RFI-09GO39004@go.doe.gov in Microsoft Word format. FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Questions regarding the content of the RFI must be submitted to the following e-mail address: RFI09GO39004@go.doe.gov. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The U.S. Department of Energy’s Geothermal Technology Program (GTP) is working with industry and educators to address important challenges in the geothermal program under authorities such as 42 U.S.C. Section 7381(b) of the Department of Energy Education Enhancement Act, and the Energy Policy Act of 2005, Section 931(a)(2)(C). Glitnir Geothermal Research’s 2008 United States Geothermal Energy Market Report asserts that human capital will be a bottleneck to advancing geothermal energy technology and could delay development of Enhanced Geothermal Systems (EGS) technology. The limited capability for meeting this need is further illustrated by the current lack of formal university degree programs. The Federal government and industry, together, must address the growing inadequacy of workforce competencies due to the small size of the existing geothermal industry and the competition for human resources, as the geothermal industry competes with the oil and gas industry for qualified personnel. Future GTP funding and administrative efforts may focus on the following goals: • Institute program activities affiliated with the development and retention of the geothermal-specific competencies. E:\FR\FM\09DEN1.SGM 09DEN1 Federal Register / Vol. 73, No. 237 / Tuesday, December 9, 2008 / Notices • Develop teaming opportunities with universities and industry to invest in geothermal education programs. • Co-sponsor student design competitions with industry focused on critical technology challenges for EGS. Potential initiatives may include, but are not limited to: • EGS curriculum—Competitively fund institutions of higher education to develop geothermal educational curricula and degree programs/minors/ specializations. • Educational scholarship program— Support student enrollment in programs with geothermal development and curricula for education, research and/or internships. These programs may apply to undergraduates, graduate students, and post-docs. • Vocational training—Develop the next generation of skilled workers for widespread geothermal facility construction and operation. • University cooperative education and professional internship program. • University student competition. • Allow students to solve real-life problems and implement solutions in the field. • Co-sponsor with industry student design competitions focused on critical technology challenges. • Co-sponsor student paper challenges to showcase student research in a public forum and make connections to industry. • K–12 education modules—Provide early exposure to and curricula for geothermal energy and technology. This may include supplementing the Energy Efficiency & Renewable Energy (EERE) Education Web site. • Pilot education program. • Day programs/workshops at universities. • Innovative education models for post-undergraduate education. Issued in Golden, CO on November 26, 2008. James P. Damm, Acting Assistant Manager, Office of Acquisition and Financial Assistance, Golden Field Office, U.S. Department of Energy. [FR Doc. E8–29087 Filed 12–8–08; 8:45 am] BILLING CODE 6450–01–P DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY pwalker on PROD1PC71 with NOTICES Energy Information Administration Agency Information Collection Activities: Proposed Collection; Comment Request AGENCY: Energy Information Administration (EIA), Department of Energy (DOE). VerDate Aug<31>2005 17:00 Dec 08, 2008 Jkt 217001 ACTION: Agency Information Collection Activities: Proposed Collection Update; Informational. SUMMARY: The EIA issued a Proposed Collection Comment Request on ‘‘Report of Refinery Outages,’’ 73 FR 10745, Thursday, February 28, 2008. EIA is postponing a decision on pursuing this survey until spring 2009. This notice is an informational update on the reason for EIA’s postponement of decision and EIA’s activities in this area. FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Joanne Shore by e-mail at joanne.shore@eia.doe.gov or by telephone at 202–586–4677. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: I. Background EIA recognizes the importance of understanding and anticipating supply changes that could add to already high prices being paid by consumers for petroleum products. Refinery availability is an important element of this issue, and was highlighted in Section 804 of the Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007 (Pub. L. 110– 140), requiring EIA to assess the impact of planned outages using commercially available data. Before EIA could implement Section 804, Congressional interest increased in having EIA collect such data, partially as a result of unusually high refinery outages in 2007. In response, EIA put out a Federal Register notice on February 2008 (Proposed Collection Comment Request on ‘‘Report of Refinery Outages,’’ 73 FR 10745, Thursday, February 28, 2008) to solicit comments on collecting such data. The EIA data collection would be an enhancement to the monthly refinery survey (Form EIA–810). In addition, the Department of Energy’s Office of Electricity Delivery and Energy Reliability (OE) put out a Federal Register notice in July 2008 (Notice and Request for Comments on Proposal for a Refinery Disruption and Incident Report, 73–FR 37451, July 1, 2008, https://www.oe.netl.doe.gov/docs/ FRN_RefDisrupt070108.pdf) to collect complementary after-the-fact outage information on a short-term, real-time basis in order to monitor ongoing issues as part of its role in monitoring potential supply emergencies. A second Federal Register notice on this proposed emergency report was published on November 5, 2008, taking into consideration comments received after the first notice. Public comments are being solicited through December 5, 2008, on the proposed emergency form and instructions (Proposed Agency Information Collection, 73–FR 65841, November 5, 2008, https:// PO 00000 Frm 00031 Fmt 4703 Sfmt 4703 74713 www.oe.netl.doe.gov/docs/ FRN_RefDisrupt110508.pdf). EIA’s data collection on planned outages would necessarily be prospective, but any historical outage information in an EIA survey would ultimately reflect those reported in the proposed DOE Refinery Emergency Disruption and Incident Report. Prior to the February 2008 EIA Federal Register Notice, EIA had looked at potentially collecting outage data or alternatively using commercial data. EIA’s review of commercial outage data indicated that such data is relatively comprehensive. It captures most significant outages; contains unit-byunit outages for individual refineries (thereby serving many State-specific informational needs as well as Federal needs for estimating supply impacts); and may be able to be shared in a useable form with State energy officials more economically than a government survey. However, the commercial data does not contain production impacts. A government data collection would more likely capture all refinery outage plans, but differences from commercial data may be small. Governmentcollected data could potentially have greater credibility and could add information on potential impacts on product output. However, government collection would cost the Federal government more than using commercial data and would take several years of data to accumulate adequate history to be useful. In addition to cost considerations, data quality differences between commercial data and an EIA collection must be considered. EIA does not currently collect planned refinery unit outages. Rather, outages are reflected retrospectively in EIA’s historical inputs to major refinery units, although there is no distinction between planned and unplanned outages, or between outages as a whole and economically-driven utilization decisions in the refinery input data. However, commercial data is available that reflects planned unit outages, as well as unplanned and planned historical outages. Reporting planning information is not the same as reporting historical data. While an EIA data collection could be somewhat more accurate than a commercial data source, EIA’s experience with collecting ‘‘planned’’ activities is that such data inherently have an element of uncertainty because plans shift and actual maintenance may take more or less time than planned. Commercial data does not contain impacts of outages on production, although some private firms estimate aggregate impacts from outages. EIA E:\FR\FM\09DEN1.SGM 09DEN1

Agencies

[Federal Register Volume 73, Number 237 (Tuesday, December 9, 2008)]
[Notices]
[Pages 74712-74713]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E8-29087]


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DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY


Request for Information: Geothermal Workforce Education 
Development and Retention

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

ACTION: Notice of Request for Information (DE-PS36-09GO39004).

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

SUMMARY: The Department of Energy (DOE) gives notice of a Request for 
Information (RFI), seeking innovative ways for industry and educators 
to work together in addressing important challenges in the geothermal 
program; under authorities such as 42 U.S.C. Section 7381(b) of the 
Department of Energy Education Enhancement Act, and the Energy Policy 
Act of 2005, Section 931(a)(2)(C). The Federal government and industry 
must address the growing inadequacy of workforce competencies due to 
the small size of the existing geothermal industry and the competition 
for human resources, as the geothermal industry competes with the oil 
and gas industry for qualified personnel. The limited capability for 
meeting a critical need in qualified personnel is compounded by the 
current lack of formal university degree programs. This RFI seeks input 
regarding future GTP funding, potential initiatives within the industry 
and in the classroom, and with DOE administrative efforts.

DATES: Written comments must be received by January 30, 2009.

ADDRESSES: Send all responses to this RFI to RFI-09GO39004@go.doe.gov 
in Microsoft Word format.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Questions regarding the content of the 
RFI must be submitted to the following e-mail address: RFI-
09GO39004@go.doe.gov.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The U.S. Department of Energy's Geothermal 
Technology Program (GTP) is working with industry and educators to 
address important challenges in the geothermal program under 
authorities such as 42 U.S.C. Section 7381(b) of the Department of 
Energy Education Enhancement Act, and the Energy Policy Act of 2005, 
Section 931(a)(2)(C). Glitnir Geothermal Research's 2008 United States 
Geothermal Energy Market Report asserts that human capital will be a 
bottleneck to advancing geothermal energy technology and could delay 
development of Enhanced Geothermal Systems (EGS) technology.
    The limited capability for meeting this need is further illustrated 
by the current lack of formal university degree programs. The Federal 
government and industry, together, must address the growing inadequacy 
of workforce competencies due to the small size of the existing 
geothermal industry and the competition for human resources, as the 
geothermal industry competes with the oil and gas industry for 
qualified personnel.
    Future GTP funding and administrative efforts may focus on the 
following goals:
     Institute program activities affiliated with the 
development and retention of the geothermal-specific competencies.

[[Page 74713]]

     Develop teaming opportunities with universities and 
industry to invest in geothermal education programs.
     Co-sponsor student design competitions with industry 
focused on critical technology challenges for EGS.
    Potential initiatives may include, but are not limited to:
     EGS curriculum--Competitively fund institutions of higher 
education to develop geothermal educational curricula and degree 
programs/minors/specializations.
     Educational scholarship program--Support student 
enrollment in programs with geothermal development and curricula for 
education, research and/or internships. These programs may apply to 
undergraduates, graduate students, and post-docs.
     Vocational training--Develop the next generation of 
skilled workers for widespread geothermal facility construction and 
operation.
     University cooperative education and professional 
internship program.
     University student competition.
     Allow students to solve real-life problems and implement 
solutions in the field.
     Co-sponsor with industry student design competitions 
focused on critical technology challenges.
     Co-sponsor student paper challenges to showcase student 
research in a public forum and make connections to industry.
     K-12 education modules--Provide early exposure to and 
curricula for geothermal energy and technology. This may include 
supplementing the Energy Efficiency & Renewable Energy (EERE) Education 
Web site.
     Pilot education program.
     Day programs/workshops at universities.
     Innovative education models for post-undergraduate 
education.

    Issued in Golden, CO on November 26, 2008.
James P. Damm,
Acting Assistant Manager, Office of Acquisition and Financial 
Assistance, Golden Field Office, U.S. Department of Energy.
[FR Doc. E8-29087 Filed 12-8-08; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6450-01-P
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