Department of Energy 2020 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

The Department of Energy (``DOE'') announces a meeting via webinar of the Appliance Standards and Rulemaking Federal Advisory Committee (ASRAC). The Federal Advisory Committee Act requires that agencies publish notice of an advisory committee meeting in the Federal Register.

The U.S. Department of Energy (``DOE'') proposes to amend the existing test procedure for showerheads to revise the definition of a showerhead consistent with the most recent standard developed by the American Society of Mechanical Engineers (``ASME'') in 2018. DOE's current definition considers all of the individual showerheads (which DOE has termed variously as sprays, openings, or nozzles) in a product containing multiple showerheads together for purposes of compliance with the water conservation standard established in the Energy Policy and Conservation Act (``EPCA''). DOE proposes instead to define showerhead as that term is defined in the 2018 ASME standard, such that each showerhead in a product containing multiple showerheads would be considered separately for purposes of determining standards compliance, and only one of them would need to be turned on for testing. DOE has determined that the proposed definition is consistent with EPCA and, unlike the current definition, compliant with Office of Management and Budget (``OMB'') Circular A-119. In addition, the proposed definition is consistent with DOE's treatment of other products, such as body sprays. DOE also proposes to define the terms ``body spray'' and ``safety shower showerhead'' to clarify which products are not subject to the current energy conservation standard. DOE invites comment on all aspects of this proposal, and announces a public webinar to collect comments and data on its proposal.

The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) invites public comment on its Request for Information (RFI) number DE-FOA-0002379 regarding the Hydrogen and Fuel Cell Technologies Office Research and Development Strategy. This RFI is issued by the Hydrogen and Fuel Cell Technologies Office (HFTO) within DOE's Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE) to understand how hydrogen and fuel cell research priorities and goals can address evolving technology needs and to inform related research, development, and demonstration (RD&D) activities that may be undertaken by DOE. The information being sought under this RFI is intended to assist HFTO in further defining the scope and priorities of its RD&D initiatives as well as its consortia that were established to address its priorities.

In accordance with Division C of the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2010, the Department of Energy (DOE) is publishing this notice to advise the public on the availability of the FY 2018 Service Contract inventory. This inventory provides information on service contract actions over $25,000 that DOE completed in FY 2018. The inventory has been developed in accordance with guidance issued by the Office of Management and Budget's Office of Federal Procurement Policy (OFPP). FY 2018 government-wide service contract inventory can be found at https://www.acquisition.gov/service-contract-inventory. The Department of Energy's service contract inventory data is included in the government-wide inventory posted on the above link and the government-wide inventory can be filtered to display the inventory data for the Department. DOE has posted its FY 2016 Analysis, FY 2017 Analysis and the FY 2018 Analysis Plan at: https://energy.gov/ management/downloads/service-contract-inventory.