Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy Office – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

This notice announces the first meeting of the Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy Advisory Committee (ERAC). The Federal Advisory Committee Act, Pub. L. 92-463, 86 Stat. 770, requires that public notice of this meeting be announced in the Federal Register. To attend the meeting and/or to make oral statements during the public comment period, please e-mail erac@ee.doe.gov at least five business days before the meeting, no later than Tuesday, November 23, 2010. In the e-mail, please indicate your name, organization (if appropriate), citizenship, and contact information. Please be aware, entry to the DOE Forrestal building will be restricted to those who have confirmed their attendance in advance. Anyone attending the meeting will be required to present a government photo identification, such as a passport, driver's license, or government identification. Due to the required security screening upon entry, individuals attending should arrive early to allow for the extra time needed.

The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) is hereby granting an Amended nationwide limited waiver of the Buy American requirements of section 1605 of the Recovery Act under the authority of Section 1605(b)(1) (amended public interest waiver), with respect to the following solar photo- voltaic (PV) equipment: (1) Domestically-manufactured modules containing foreign-manufactured cells, (2) foreign-manufactured modules, when completely comprised of domestically-manufactured cells, and (3) any ancillary items and equipment (including, but not limited to, charge controllers, combiners and disconnect boxes, breakers and fuses, racks, trackers, lugs, wires, cables and all otherwise incidental equipment with the exception of inverters and batteries) when utilized in a solar installation involving a U.S. manufactured PV module, or a module manufactured abroad but comprised exclusively of domestically-manufactured cells. This waiver expires February 6, 2011 (six months from the date of the original waiver issuance). Recipients of EERE Recovery Act funds who have taken substantial steps to commit funds for the purchase of the items covered in this waiver by February 6, 2011 will not be impacted by the expiration of this waiver. This amended determination clarifies and supersedes the solar public interest waiver issued on August 6, 2010. Specifically, this amended public interest determination clarifies that thin-film and flexible PV installations are also subject to the terms of this waiver.

The Department of Energy (DOE) invites public comment on a proposed collection of information that DOE is developing for submission to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) pursuant to the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995. Comments are invited on: (a) Whether the proposed collection of information is necessary for the proper performance of the functions of the agency, including whether the information shall have practical utility; (b) the accuracy of the agency's estimate of the burden of the proposed collection of information, including the validity of the methodology and assumptions used; (c) ways to enhance the quality, utility, and clarity of the information to be collected; and (d) ways to minimize the burden of the collection of information on respondents, including through the use of automated collection techniques or other forms of information technology.

The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) gives notice of the decision and order (Case No. DW-004) that grants to Whirlpool Corporation (Whirlpool) a waiver from the DOE dishwasher test procedure for certain basic models containing integrated or built-in water softeners. Under today's decision and order, Whirlpool shall be required to test and rate its dishwashers with integrated water softeners using an alternate test procedure that takes this technology into account when measuring energy and water consumption.

This notice announces receipt of and publishes the Samsung Electronics America, Inc. (Samsung) petition for waiver (hereafter, ``petition'') from specified portions of the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) test procedure for determining the energy consumption of clothes washers. Today's notice also grants an interim waiver of the clothes washer test procedure. Through this notice, DOE also solicits comments with respect to the Samsung petition.

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.

The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) gives notice of the decision and order (Case No. RF-015) that grants to the General Electric Company (GE) a waiver from the DOE electric refrigerator and refrigerator-freezer test procedure for certain basic models containing relative humidity sensors and adaptive control anti-sweat heaters. Under today's decision and order, GE shall be required to test and rate its refrigerator-freezers with relative humidity sensors and adaptive control anti-sweat heaters using an alternate test procedure that takes this technology into account when measuring energy consumption.

The Department of Energy (DOE) today gives notice that the Office of Biomass Program, in the Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy, intends to conduct a Reverse Auction pursuant to section 942 of the Energy Policy Act of 2005 (EPAct 2005). Through this notice, biofuels producers and other interested parties are invited to submit pre-auction eligibility information in accordance with the process described below.

This notice announces receipt of and publishes the Whirlpool Corporation (Whirlpool) petition for waiver (hereafter, ``petition'') from specified portions of the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) test procedure for determining the energy consumption of dishwashers. Today's notice also grants an interim waiver of the dishwasher test procedure. Through this notice, DOE also solicits comments with respect to the Whirlpool petition.

The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) is providing notice of a determination of inapplicability (waiver) of the American Reinvestment and Recovery Act of 2009 (Recovery Act) to EERE-funded projects for non-residential programmable thermostats; commercial scale fully- automatic wood pellet boiler systems; facility and small district wood pellet and chip boiler furnaces; variable refrigerant flow zoning and inverter-driven ductless mini-split HVAC systems; electrical ``smart'' strips/surge protectors; gas or propane tankless water heaters up to 200,000 BTUs; and fully-enclosed continuous composting systems (additional technical information for these items is detailed below).

This notice announces receipt of and publishes the LG petition for waiver (hereafter, ``petition'') from parts of the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) test procedure for determining the energy consumption of electric refrigerators and refrigerator-freezers. Today's notice also grants an interim waiver of the test procedures applicable to residential refrigerator-freezers. Through this document, DOE is soliciting comments with respect to the LG petition.

The DOE Geothermal Technologies Program, Office of Science- Geosciences Program and Office of Fossil Energy-Carbon Sequestration Program will be holding a joint workshop on Common Research Themes for Carbon Storage and Geothermal Energy, June 15-16, 2010. Experts from industry, academia, national labs, and State and Federal geological surveys will discuss geosciences research needs for subsurface reservoir characterization, development, and management. The resulting report will provide the collaborating offices with information key to coordinating high priority research in common areas. Further information, including the final report, when available, can be found on the Geothermal Technologies Program Web sitehttps:// www.geothermal.energy.gov.

This notice announces the availability of materials related to a petition filed by the Commonwealth of Massachusetts seeking an exemption from Federal preemption of certain energy efficiency standards. It also provides an opportunity for rebuttal to those comments that have already been received by the Department of Energy (DOE) in response to this petition.

This document advises the public that a class deviation to the Department of Energy (DOE) Financial Assistance Rules, particularly the regulations that deal with programmatic changes, and DOE policies and procedures on the use of warranted Contracting Officers to administer financial assistance agreements, has been approved for the Energy Efficiency and Conservation Block Grant (EECBG) program. This class deviation gives authority to EECBG Program Managers to approve the following processes for financial assistance agreements made using Recovery Act funding to State, city, county, and Tribal recipients in support of the formula EECBG program: Administer financial assistance awards for approval of programmatic changes under the Changes section of the Financial Assistance Rules; review of subsequent budget submittals for consistency with the requirements of Office of Management and Budget's (OMB) Cost Principles for State, Local and Indian Tribal Governments (questions on allowability, allocability and reasonableness of budgets and individual cost elements will be forwarded to the Contracting Officer for adjudication), remove and/or modify National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) restrictions, including guidance on NEPA requirements; and amend agreements for administrative activities such as lifting conditions based on approval of Strategies. The class deviation does not apply to non-formula awards.

This notice publishes DOE's Decision and Order in Case No. WAV-0140, which denies a waiver to PB Heat, LLC (PB) from the existing DOE residential furnace and boiler test procedure. This Decision and Order pertains to PB's PO-50, PO-60, PO-63, and PO-73 models of oil- fired boilers. DOE previously published the PB Petition for Waiver and solicited comments, data, and information regarding the petition, which requested permission to publish a Low Water Temperature Seasonal Efficiency (LWTSE) value, conducted under an alternative industry test procedure, in addition to the mandatory Annual Fuel Utilization Efficiency (AFUE) value required under DOE's energy conservation standards. PB's petition suggested that testing and reporting of the AFUE value alone is not representative of its basic models' true energy consumption characteristics. DOE denies PB's Petition for Waiver for the reasons set forth below. Because a waiver is not appropriate, DOE cannot prescribe an alternative test procedure. However, the Decision and Order clarifies that it is permissible for a manufacturer to conduct LWTSE testing and to present such results in product literature. It is noted that the Energy Guide label used for certification and consumer information purposes can only present information generated under the DOE test procedure, as required under applicable Federal Trade Commission (FTC) regulations. When making such supplemental statements in the product literature, manufacturers must continue to conduct, report, and fairly disclose the AFUE test results generated under the DOE test procedures, and to use those AFUE results when making representations as to the basic model's energy efficiency. Supplemental statements regarding LWTSE must fairly disclose the results of such testing and may not mislead the consumer about the relevance of the required AFUE value. For example, DOE suggests any manufacturer that wishes to show the LWTSE values in addition to the AFUE value should make clear the differences between the two tests, including the different operating characteristics and conditions, for consumers.

The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) gives notice of the decision and order (Case No. RF-012) that grants to Electrolux Home Products, Inc. (Electrolux) a waiver from the DOE electric refrigerator and refrigerator-freezer test procedure for certain basic models containing relative humidity sensors and adaptive control anti-sweat heaters. Under today's decision and order, Electrolux shall be required to test and rate its refrigerator-freezers with adaptive control anti- sweat heaters using an alternate test procedure that takes this technology into account when measuring energy consumption.

This notice announces receipt of and publishes the GE petition for waiver (hereafter, ``petition'') from parts of the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) test procedure for determining the energy consumption of electric refrigerators and refrigerator-freezers. Through this document, DOE is soliciting comments with respect to the GE petition.

The Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE) of the U.S. Department of Energy hereby provides notice that on March 19, 2010, the Assistant Secretary for EERE granted nationwide limited waivers of the Buy American requirements of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (Recovery Act; Pub. L. 111-5) under the authority of section 1605(b)(1) [application of the restrictions of section 1605 would be inconsistent with the public interest] for the purchase of light-emitting diode LED lighting (lamps, fixtures, and any supporting components) and heating, ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC) units. These nationwide limited waivers apply to projects using EERE Recovery Act funds for the construction, alteration, maintenance and repair of a public building or public work. These limited waivers only apply in circumstances where the recipient of EERE Recovery Act funds (``grantee'') has taken substantial steps to commit funds for the purchase of LED lights or HVAC units between February 17, 2009 and March 31, 2010. Substantial steps to commit funds would include, but are not limited to: (1) issuing a Request for Proposals (RFP) on or before March 31, 2010 (applicable only where the grantee accepts a proposal received under that RFP); (2) in the case of a sole source selection: placing an order for the goods on or before March 31, 2010; (3) commencing a bidding process on or before March 31, 2010; (4) in circumstances where the grantee solicited quotes without an RFP: the grantee purchases the goods based on a quote dated on or before March 31, 2010 and the order for the goods is placed on or before March 31, 2010; and (5) grantee has executed a contract or purchase agreement with a supplier to acquire affected goods between February 17, 2009 and March 31, 2010.

In this notice, the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) is forecasting the representative average unit costs of five residential energy sources for the year 2010 pursuant to the Energy Policy and Conservation Act. The five sources are electricity, natural gas, No. 2 heating oil, propane, and kerosene.

This notice announces receipt of and publishes a petition for waiver from Sanyo North America Corp. (Sanyo). The petition for waiver (hereafter ``petition'') requests a waiver from the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) test procedure applicable to commercial package air-source and water-source central air conditioners and heat pumps. The petition is specific to the Sanyo variable capacity ECO-i (commercial) multi- split heat pumps. Through this document, DOE: (1) Solicits comments, data, and information with respect to the Sanyo petition; and (2) announces the grant of an interim waiver to Sanyo from the existing DOE test procedure for the subject commercial multi-split air conditioners and heat pumps.

The Fuel Cell Technologies Program, under the DOE Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy, is inviting the fuel cell research community and other stakeholders to participate in a discussion of the most relevant research, development, and demonstration topics in fuel cells and fuel cell systems appropriate for government funding in stationary and transportation applications as well as cross-cutting stack and balance of plant component technology. Input from workshop participants will be used to assist in the development of a planned Fuel Cell Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA) with awards anticipated in Fiscal Year (FY) 2011.

The Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy of the U.S. Department of Energy hereby provides notice that on February 11, 2010, the Assistant Secretary for EERE granted nationwide categorical waivers of the Buy American requirements of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, Public Law 111-5 (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] for the purchase of LED traffic lights, arrows, and crosswalk signals (excluding the metal or plastic fixtures); fluorescent electronic lighting ballasts (with the exception of electronic dimming ballasts for fluorescent lamps that are capable of operating the lamps below 50 percent of their rated light output); and screw-base and pin-base compact fluorescent lamps (CFLs) (with the exception of plug-in CFLs longer than 10 inches). These nationwide categorical waivers apply to all projects using EERE Recovery Act funds for the construction, alteration, maintenance and repair of a public building or public work. EERE reserves the right to revisit and amend these nationwide categorical waivers based on new developments or changes in the domestic manufacturing capacity for these three technologies.

The Department of Energy (DOE) announces the filing of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts Petition for Exemption from Federal Preemption of Massachusetts' 90% Annual Fuel Utilization Efficiency Standard for Non-weatherized Gas Furnaces (hereafter ``Massachusetts Petition'' or ``Petition'''). To help DOE evaluate the merits of the Massachusetts Petition, DOE invites interested members of the public to submit comments they might have on the Massachusetts Petition and information related to the evaluation factors outlined in the Energy Policy and Conservation Act (EPCA or ``the Act'').

The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) is amending the eligibility provisions applicable to multi-unit buildings under the Weatherization Assistance Program for Low-Income Persons. As a result of today's final rule, if a multi-unit building is under an assisted or public housing program and is identified by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), and included on a list published by DOE, that building will meet certain income eligibility requirements, and will also satisfy one or both of the procedural requirements to protect against rent increases and undue or excessive enhancement of the weatherized building, as indicated by the list, under the Weatherization Assistance Program without the need for further evaluation or verification. The preamble of today's final rule

The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE) has issued a Request for Information (RFI) seeking input from prospective fuel cell system users, fuel cell component and system suppliers and other stakeholders on performance and cost requirements for fuel storage subsystems for near-term, early market fuel cell applications (e.g., for mobile applications such as fork lifts, stationary back-up power, portable power, etc) . This RFI is intended to be ``fuel neutral'' with the focus on defining the fuel storage needs and requirements for early market fuel cell applications to facilitate successful market transformation in a competitive environment. This information will be used by DOE in a preliminary assessment and ultimate determination of the storage system performance requirements. A public Workshop on the same topic will be held the afternoon of November 16th, in conjunction with the Fuel Cell Seminar, Nov 16-20, Palm Springs, CA.