Department of Energy October 2010 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) is publishing this notice of proposed rulemaking to implement provisions of the Energy Conservation and Production Act, as amended by the Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007 that require DOE to establish revised performance standards for the construction of all new Federal buildings, including commercial buildings, multi-family high-rise residential buildings and low-rise residential buildings. The provisions in this notice of proposed rulemaking specifically address the reduction of fossil fuel-generated energy consumption in new Federal buildings and Federal buildings undergoing major renovations. This proposed rule also addresses how agencies other than the General Services Administration (GSA) may petition DOE for a downward adjustment of the requirements if they believe meeting the full fossil fuel-generated energy consumption reduction level is technically impracticable in light of the specified functional needs for that building.

The Office of Fossil Energy (FE) of the Department of Energy (DOE) gives notice of receipt of an application (Application), filed on September 7, 2010, by Sabine Pass Liquefaction, LLC (Sabine Pass), requesting long-term, multi-contract authorization to export up to 16 million metric tons per annum (mtpa) of domestic natural gas as liquefied natural gas (LNG) for a 20-year period, commencing the earlier of the date of first export or five years from the date of issuance of the requested authorization. Sabine Pass seeks authorization to export LNG from the Sabine Pass LNG Terminal \1\ to any country with which the United States does not have a free trade agreement (FTA) requiring the national treatment for trade in natural gas and LNG that has, or in the future develops, the capacity to import LNG and with which trade is not prohibited by U.S. law or policy. The application was filed under section 3 of the Natural Gas Act (NGA), as amended by section 201 of the Energy Policy Act of 1992. Protests, motions to intervene, notices of intervention, and written comments are invited.

Through this notice, the Department of Energy (DOE) announces the availability of its report entitled, ``Data Access and Privacy Issues Related to Smart Grid Technologies.'' In this report, DOE discusses existing trends, consensus, and potential best practices emerging as States use or adapt existing legal regimes to accommodate the deployment of Smart Grid technologies. DOE also provides a comprehensive summary of the comments received in response to a Request for Information and during a public meeting conducted during the preparation of the report. This report responds to recommendations for DOE set forth in the National Broadband Plan authored by the Federal Communications Commission at the direction of Congress.