Nationwide Categorical Waivers Under Section 1605 (Buy American) of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (Recovery Act), 52323-52324 [2010-21116]
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srobinson on DSKHWCL6B1PROD with NOTICES
Federal Register / Vol. 75, No. 164 / Wednesday, August 25, 2010 / Notices
approximate. EERE is aware of
companies in the process of moving
manufacturing capacity into and out of
the United States, and new companies
may emerge that were not included in
the most recent round of research. As a
result, these numbers may fluctuate. In
addition, thin-film solar PV modules are
not covered by this waiver, as grantees
have stated, and EERE’s research has
confirmed, that these products do not
meet the specifications for most
Recovery Act projects funded by EERE.
In the event that a thin film installation
is being purchased with EERE Recovery
Act funds, then it would meet the Buy
American provisions as long as the
modules were manufactured in the U.S.
Option 1 is consistent with the
current interpretation of the Buy
American provisions, which are
satisfied as long as final manufacturing
takes place in the U.S. However, if EERE
were to choose Option 1, there would be
only four companies producing solar PV
modules in the United States that could
sell their products to EERE grantees. If
Option 2 were chosen, the market
would be even more limited, with only
two companies producing both the cell
and the module in the United States.
Finally, for Option 3, an additional five
companies would be able to compete for
grantees’ solar PV projects in addition to
the four that produce modules, bringing
the total U.S. marketplace benefit to
nine companies.
This public interest waiver affirms
EERE’s determination that the
manufacturing process for cells and the
final PV module production represent
distinct and significant stages in the
solar PV manufacturing chain.
Conducting either of these discrete
activities in the United States creates
roughly equal numbers of American
jobs. The design and manufacture of the
cells also captures the largest portion of
the intellectual property present in a
solar array. Designing and increasing the
efficiency of cells is high-value work
that directly affects the end product.
EERE believes the public interest is best
served by supporting the domestic cell
manufacturing industry at this time. It is
therefore in the public interest to issue
a waiver of the Recovery Act Buy
American provisions that allows
grantees to purchase foreign modules
made with domestically-manufactured
cells, in addition to domestic modules
with foreign-produced cells.
Because the Assistant Secretary
believes strongly in increasing the
domestic PV manufacturing capacity in
the United States, she is limiting the
duration of this waiver to six months
from the date it goes into effect, with the
expectation that there will be an
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17:48 Aug 24, 2010
Jkt 220001
increase in the number of companies
that produce modules in the United
States containing domesticallymanufactured cells.
This public interest waiver
determination also resolves questions
regarding the applicability of the Buy
American provisions to numerous
individual manufactured goods that are
incidental in cost and technological
significance but are ultimately
incorporated into the final solar
installation. These items, such as charge
controllers, combiners and disconnect
boxes, breakers and fuses, racks,
trackers, lugs, wires, and cables, but
excluding inverters and batteries, are
generally low-cost incidental items that
are incorporated into the installation of
PV modules and arrays on public
buildings and public works. This public
interest waiver for all incidental and
ancillary items eliminates potential
questions and ambiguities concerning
whether the incidental items are final
manufactured goods or merely
components of a larger solar module or
array.
Issuance of this nationwide public
interest waiver recognizes EERE’s
commitment to expeditious costing of
Recovery Act dollars by enabling
recipients to easily ascertain whether a
given solar installation complies with
the Buy American provision.
Simultaneously, this waiver advances
the purpose and the principles of the
Buy American provision by focusing on
the highest-value and most laborintensive pieces of solar PV equipment.
Having established a proper
justification based on the public
interest, EERE hereby provides notice
that on August 6, 2010, a nationwide
public interest waiver of section 1605 of
the Recovery Act was issued for
ancillary solar Photovoltaic (PV)
equipment as detailed supra. This
notice constitutes the detailed written
justification required by Section 1605(c)
for waivers based on a finding under
subsection (b).
This waiver determination is pursuant
to the delegation of authority by the
Secretary of Energy to the Assistant
Secretary for Energy Efficiency and
Renewable Energy with respect to
expenditures within the purview of her
responsibility. Consequently, this
waiver applies to EERE projects carried
out under the Recovery Act. This waiver
expires on February 6, 2011, six months
from the day it took effect. Furthermore,
the Assistant Secretary reserves the right
to revisit and amend this determination
based on new information or new
developments.
Authority: Pub. L. 111–5, section 1605.
PO 00000
Frm 00022
Fmt 4703
Sfmt 4703
52323
Issued in Washington, DC on August 16,
2010.
Cathy Zoi,
Assistant Secretary for Energy Efficiency and
Renewable Energy, U.S. Department of
Energy.
[FR Doc. 2010–21115 Filed 8–24–10; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6450–01–P
DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY
Office of Energy Efficiency and
Renewable Energy
Nationwide Categorical Waivers Under
Section 1605 (Buy American) of the
American Recovery and Reinvestment
Act of 2009 (Recovery Act)
Office of Energy Efficiency and
Renewable Energy, U.S. Department of
Energy (DOE).
ACTION: Notice of limited waivers.
AGENCY:
The U.S. Department of
Energy (DOE) is hereby granting a
nationwide limited waiver of the Buy
American requirements of section 1605
of the Recovery Act under the authority
of Section 1605(b)(2) (iron, steel, and
the relevant manufactured goods are not
produced in the United States in
sufficient and reasonably available
quantities and of a satisfactory quality)
with respect to: 24-leaf, motorized DMX
iris units; induction lamps and ballasts
for induction lighting systems
(excluding fixtures for induction
lighting); Enphase micro-inverters for
solar photovoltaic systems; gas or
propane commercial-scale high
efficiency condensing wall hung boiler
with indirect water heater, 94% or
greater efficiency and a BTU output
below 350,000, constructed with
SA240–316 Ti stainless steel; largeformat solar thermal collectors for
integrated district heating systems
(includes only high-performance flat
plate solar collectors that possess the
ability to limit the convective heat loss
from the absorber plate to the cover
glass, effectively minimizing heat losses
to less than 2.6 W/m2K; the capability
of sustaining output temperatures of 195
degrees F; and a gross collector area of
greater than 150 ft2); turbochargers for
Mitsubishi/Man 52/55B diesel generator
engine (only in circumstances where
replacing an existing MAN/NA48T
turbocharger); and Liebert Variable
Speed Upgrade Kits and Liebert iCOM
Control Upgrade kits for the Liebert
Chilled Water Deluxe heating, cooling,
and humidification space conditioner
that will be used on eligible EERERecovery Act funded projects.
DATES: Effective Date: August 11, 2010.
SUMMARY:
E:\FR\FM\25AUN1.SGM
25AUN1
52324
Federal Register / Vol. 75, No. 164 / Wednesday, August 25, 2010 / Notices
srobinson on DSKHWCL6B1PROD with NOTICES
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Benjamin Goldstein, Energy Technology
Program Specialist, Office of Energy
Efficiency and Renewable Energy
(EERE), (202) 287–1553, Department of
Energy, 1000 Independence Avenue,
SW., Mailstop EE–2K, Washington, DC
20585.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Under the
authority of the Recovery Act, Public
Law 111–5, section 1605(b)(2), the head
of a federal department or agency may
issue a ‘‘determination of
inapplicability’’ (a waiver of the Buy
American provision) if the iron, steel, or
relevant manufactured good is not
produced or manufactured in the United
States in sufficient and reasonably
available quantities and of a satisfactory
quality (‘‘nonavailability’’). On
November 10, 2009, the Secretary of
Energy delegated the authority to make
all inapplicability determinations to the
Assistant Secretary for Energy Efficiency
and Renewable Energy (EERE), for EERE
projects under the Recovery Act.
Pursuant to this delegation the Assistant
Secretary, EERE, has concluded that 24leaf, motorized DMX iris units (items
used in conjunction with a Source 4
lighting instrument in the theatrical
lighting business); Induction lamps and
ballasts for induction lighting systems
(this waiver does not include fixtures
for induction lighting, which are readily
available from domestic manufacturers);
Enphase micro-inverters for solar
photovoltaic systems; gas or propane
commercial-scale high efficiency
condensing wall hung boiler with
indirect water heater, 94% or greater
efficiency and a BTU output below
350,000, constructed with SA240–316
Ti stainless steel; large-format solar
thermal collectors for integrated district
heating systems (includes only highperformance flat plate solar collectors
that possess the ability to limit the
convective heat loss from the absorber
plate to the cover glass, effectively
minimizing heat losses to less than 2.6
W/m2K; the capability of sustaining
output temperatures of 195 degrees F;
and a gross collector area of greater than
150 ft2); turbochargers for Mitsubishi/
Man 52/55B diesel generator engine
(only in circumstances where replacing
an existing MAN/NA48T turbocharger);
and Liebert Variable Speed Upgrade
Kits and Liebert iCOM Control Upgrade
kits for the Liebert Chilled Water Deluxe
heating, cooling, and humidification
space conditioner that will be used on
eligible EERE-Recovery Act funded
projects qualify for the ‘‘nonavailability’’
waiver determination.
EERE has developed a robust process
to ascertain in a systematic and
VerDate Mar<15>2010
17:48 Aug 24, 2010
Jkt 220001
expedient manner whether or not there
is domestic manufacturing capacity for
the items submitted for a waiver of the
Recovery Act Buy American provision.
This process involves a close
collaboration with the United States
Department of Commerce National
Institute of Standards and Technology
(NIST) Manufacturing Extension
Partnership (MEP), in order to scour the
domestic manufacturing landscape in
search of producers before making any
nonavailability.
The NIST MEP has 59 regional centers
with substantial knowledge of, and
connections to, the domestic
manufacturing sector. MEP uses their
regional centers to ‘scout’ for current or
potential manufacturers of the
product(s) submitted in a waiver
request. In the course of this interagency
collaboration, MEP has been able to find
exact or partial matches for
manufactured goods that EERE grantees
had been unable to locate. As a result,
in those cases, EERE was able to work
with the grantees to procure Americanmade products rather than granting a
waiver.
Upon receipt of completed waiver
requests for the seven products in the
current waiver, EERE reviewed the
information provided and submitted the
relevant technical information to the
NIST MEP. The MEP then used their
network of nationwide centers to scout
for domestic manufacturers. The NIST
MEP reported that their scouting
process did not locate any domestic
manufacturers for these exact or
equivalent items.
In addition to the MEP collaboration
outlined above, the EERE Buy American
Coordinator worked with labor unions,
trade associations and other
manufacturing stakeholders to scout for
domestic manufacturing capacity or an
equivalent product for each item
contained in this waiver. EERE also
conducted significant amounts of
independent research to supplement
MEP’s scouting efforts, including
utilizing the solar experts employed by
the Department of Energy’s National
Renewable Energy Laboratory. EERE’s
research efforts confirmed the MEP
findings that the goods included in this
waiver are not produced in the United
States in sufficient and reasonably
available quantities and of a satisfactory
quality.
The nonavailability determination is
also informed by the inquiries and
petitions to EERE from recipients of
EERE Recovery Act funds, and from
suppliers, distributors, retailers and
trade associations—all stating that their
individual efforts to locate domestic
manufacturers have been unsuccessful.
PO 00000
Frm 00023
Fmt 4703
Sfmt 4703
Having established a proper
justification based on domestic
nonavailability, EERE hereby provides
notice that on August 11, 2010, seven
nationwide categorical waivers of
section 1605 of the Recovery Act were
issued as detailed supra. This notice
constitutes the detailed written
justification required by Section 1605(c)
for waivers based on a finding under
subsection (b).
This waiver determination is pursuant
to the delegation of authority by the
Secretary of Energy to the Assistant
Secretary for Energy Efficiency and
Renewable Energy with respect to
expenditures within the purview of her
responsibility. Consequently, this
waiver applies to EERE projects carried
out under the Recovery Act.
Authority: Pub. L. 111–5, section 1605.
Issued in Washington, DC, on August 16,
2010.
Cathy Zoi,
Assistant Secretary for Energy Efficiency and
Renewable Energy, U.S. Department of
Energy.
[FR Doc. 2010–21116 Filed 8–24–10; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6450–01–P
DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY
Federal Energy Regulatory
Commission
[Docket No. CP10–483–000]
Dominion Transmission, Inc.; Notice of
Request Under Blanket Authorization
August 18, 2010.
Take notice that on August 11, 2010,
Dominion Transmission, Inc.
(Dominion), 120 Tredegar Street,
Richmond, Virginia 23219, filed a prior
notice request pursuant to sections
157.205, 157.208, and 157.211 of the
Commission’s regulations under the
Natural Gas Act (NGA) for authorization
to drill two new wells located in the
North Summit Storage Field in Fayette
County, Pennsylvania. Specifically,
Dominion proposes to drill two new
injection/withdrawal wells (UW–209
and UW–210). Dominion states that the
certificated physical parameters,
including total inventory, reservoir
pressure, reservoir and buffer
boundaries, and certificated capacity
(including injection and withdrawal
capacity) of the North Summit Storage
Field will remain unchanged with the
drilling of the two new wells, all as
more fully set forth in the application,
which is on file with the Commission
and open to public inspection. The
filing may also be viewed on the Web
at https://www.ferc.gov using the
E:\FR\FM\25AUN1.SGM
25AUN1
]]>Agencies
[Federal Register Volume 75, Number 164 (Wednesday, August 25, 2010)]
[Notices]
[Pages 52323-52324]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2010-21116]
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY
Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy
Nationwide Categorical Waivers Under Section 1605 (Buy American)
of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (Recovery Act)
AGENCY: Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy, U.S.
Department of Energy (DOE).
ACTION: Notice of limited waivers.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
SUMMARY: The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) is hereby granting a
nationwide limited waiver of the Buy American requirements of section
1605 of the Recovery Act under the authority of Section 1605(b)(2)
(iron, steel, and the relevant manufactured goods are not produced in
the United States in sufficient and reasonably available quantities and
of a satisfactory quality) with respect to: 24-leaf, motorized DMX iris
units; induction lamps and ballasts for induction lighting systems
(excluding fixtures for induction lighting); Enphase micro-inverters
for solar photovoltaic systems; gas or propane commercial-scale high
efficiency condensing wall hung boiler with indirect water heater, 94%
or greater efficiency and a BTU output below 350,000, constructed with
SA240-316 Ti stainless steel; large-format solar thermal collectors for
integrated district heating systems (includes only high-performance
flat plate solar collectors that possess the ability to limit the
convective heat loss from the absorber plate to the cover glass,
effectively minimizing heat losses to less than 2.6 W/m2K; the
capability of sustaining output temperatures of 195 degrees F; and a
gross collector area of greater than 150 ft\2\); turbochargers for
Mitsubishi/Man 52/55B diesel generator engine (only in circumstances
where replacing an existing MAN/NA48T turbocharger); and Liebert
Variable Speed Upgrade Kits and Liebert iCOM Control Upgrade kits for
the Liebert Chilled Water Deluxe heating, cooling, and humidification
space conditioner that will be used on eligible EERE-Recovery Act
funded projects.
DATES: Effective Date: August 11, 2010.
[[Page 52324]]
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Benjamin Goldstein, Energy Technology
Program Specialist, Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy
(EERE), (202) 287-1553, Department of Energy, 1000 Independence Avenue,
SW., Mailstop EE-2K, Washington, DC 20585.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Under the authority of the Recovery Act,
Public Law 111-5, section 1605(b)(2), the head of a federal department
or agency may issue a ``determination of inapplicability'' (a waiver of
the Buy American provision) if the iron, steel, or relevant
manufactured good is not produced or manufactured in the United States
in sufficient and reasonably available quantities and of a satisfactory
quality (``nonavailability''). On November 10, 2009, the Secretary of
Energy delegated the authority to make all inapplicability
determinations to the Assistant Secretary for Energy Efficiency and
Renewable Energy (EERE), for EERE projects under the Recovery Act.
Pursuant to this delegation the Assistant Secretary, EERE, has
concluded that 24-leaf, motorized DMX iris units (items used in
conjunction with a Source 4 lighting instrument in the theatrical
lighting business); Induction lamps and ballasts for induction lighting
systems (this waiver does not include fixtures for induction lighting,
which are readily available from domestic manufacturers); Enphase
micro-inverters for solar photovoltaic systems; gas or propane
commercial-scale high efficiency condensing wall hung boiler with
indirect water heater, 94% or greater efficiency and a BTU output below
350,000, constructed with SA240-316 Ti stainless steel; large-format
solar thermal collectors for integrated district heating systems
(includes only high-performance flat plate solar collectors that
possess the ability to limit the convective heat loss from the absorber
plate to the cover glass, effectively minimizing heat losses to less
than 2.6 W/m2K; the capability of sustaining output temperatures of 195
degrees F; and a gross collector area of greater than 150 ft\2\);
turbochargers for Mitsubishi/Man 52/55B diesel generator engine (only
in circumstances where replacing an existing MAN/NA48T turbocharger);
and Liebert Variable Speed Upgrade Kits and Liebert iCOM Control
Upgrade kits for the Liebert Chilled Water Deluxe heating, cooling, and
humidification space conditioner that will be used on eligible EERE-
Recovery Act funded projects qualify for the ``nonavailability'' waiver
determination.
EERE has developed a robust process to ascertain in a systematic
and expedient manner whether or not there is domestic manufacturing
capacity for the items submitted for a waiver of the Recovery Act Buy
American provision. This process involves a close collaboration with
the United States Department of Commerce National Institute of
Standards and Technology (NIST) Manufacturing Extension Partnership
(MEP), in order to scour the domestic manufacturing landscape in search
of producers before making any nonavailability.
The NIST MEP has 59 regional centers with substantial knowledge of,
and connections to, the domestic manufacturing sector. MEP uses their
regional centers to `scout' for current or potential manufacturers of
the product(s) submitted in a waiver request. In the course of this
interagency collaboration, MEP has been able to find exact or partial
matches for manufactured goods that EERE grantees had been unable to
locate. As a result, in those cases, EERE was able to work with the
grantees to procure American-made products rather than granting a
waiver.
Upon receipt of completed waiver requests for the seven products in
the current waiver, EERE reviewed the information provided and
submitted the relevant technical information to the NIST MEP. The MEP
then used their network of nationwide centers to scout for domestic
manufacturers. The NIST MEP reported that their scouting process did
not locate any domestic manufacturers for these exact or equivalent
items.
In addition to the MEP collaboration outlined above, the EERE Buy
American Coordinator worked with labor unions, trade associations and
other manufacturing stakeholders to scout for domestic manufacturing
capacity or an equivalent product for each item contained in this
waiver. EERE also conducted significant amounts of independent research
to supplement MEP's scouting efforts, including utilizing the solar
experts employed by the Department of Energy's National Renewable
Energy Laboratory. EERE's research efforts confirmed the MEP findings
that the goods included in this waiver are not produced in the United
States in sufficient and reasonably available quantities and of a
satisfactory quality.
The nonavailability determination is also informed by the inquiries
and petitions to EERE from recipients of EERE Recovery Act funds, and
from suppliers, distributors, retailers and trade associations--all
stating that their individual efforts to locate domestic manufacturers
have been unsuccessful.
Having established a proper justification based on domestic
nonavailability, EERE hereby provides notice that on August 11, 2010,
seven nationwide categorical waivers of section 1605 of the Recovery
Act were issued as detailed supra. This notice constitutes the detailed
written justification required by Section 1605(c) for waivers based on
a finding under subsection (b).
This waiver determination is pursuant to the delegation of
authority by the Secretary of Energy to the Assistant Secretary for
Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy with respect to expenditures
within the purview of her responsibility. Consequently, this waiver
applies to EERE projects carried out under the Recovery Act.
Authority: Pub. L. 111-5, section 1605.
Issued in Washington, DC, on August 16, 2010.
Cathy Zoi,
Assistant Secretary for Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy, U.S.
Department of Energy.
[FR Doc. 2010-21116 Filed 8-24-10; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6450-01-P
