Department of Energy 2012 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

In 2010, DOE announced its intent to prepare a PEIS for the Hawai'i Interisland Renewable Energy Program (HIREP): Wind (DOE/EIS- 0459) (HIREP: Wind PEIS). In response to public scoping comments on the HIREP: Wind PEIS, as well as regulatory and policy developments since the scoping meetings, DOE proposes to broaden the range of energy efficiency and renewable energy activities and technologies to be analyzed in the PEIS and, accordingly, has renamed it the Hawai'i Clean Energy PEIS. DOE's proposal will involve the development of guidance to use in future funding decisions and other actions to support Hawai'i in achieving the goal established in the Hawai'i Clean Energy Initiative (HCEI) to meet 70% of the State's energy needs by 2030 through energy efficiency and renewable energy. Achieving the HCEI goal could involve a diverse range of activities. Accordingly, this PEIS will analyze the potential environmental impacts of activities in the following clean energy categories: (1) Energy Efficiency, (2) Distributed Renewables, (3) Utility-Scale Renewables, (4) Alternative Transportation Fuels and Modes, and (5) Electrical Transmission and Distribution. The State of Hawai'i and the U.S. Department of the Interior's Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) are cooperating agencies in preparing this PEIS.

As part of its implementation of Executive Order 13563, ``Improving Regulation and Regulatory Review,'' issued by the President on January 18, 2011, the Department of Energy (Department or DOE) is seeking comments and information from interested parties to assist DOE in reviewing its existing regulations to determine whether any such regulations should be modified, streamlined, expanded, or repealed. The purpose of DOE's review is to make the agency's regulatory program more effective and less burdensome in achieving its regulatory objectives.