Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy September 2014 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) has preliminarily determined that the 2015 edition of the International Energy Conservation Code (IECC) would improve energy efficiency in buildings subject to the code compared to the 2012 edition. DOE analysis indicates that buildings meeting the 2015 IECC (as compared with buildings meeting the 2012 IECC) would result in national source energy savings of approximately 1.03 percent, site energy savings of approximately 1.12 percent, and energy cost savings of approximately 0.90 percent of residential building energy consumption, as regulated by the IECC. If this determination is finalized, each State would be required by statute to certify that it has reviewed the provisions of its residential building code regarding energy efficiency, and made a determination as to whether to update their code to meet or exceed the 2015 IECC. Additionally, this notice provides guidance to States on these processes and associated certifications.

The Department of Energy (DOE) gives notice of its decision to suspend, effective September 18th, 2014, competition rules for the SunShot Prize: Race to the Rooftop in order to broaden the scope of participation and better align competition rules with SunShot goals given that the U.S. solar market has already realized 60% of the SunShot price targets for 2020. Building on this success, DOE will continue to target aggressive scenarios for reducing costs and increasing access to solar technologies for American consumers. DOE intends to release an updated draft rules document of the SunShot Prize program no later than the end of this calendar year and remains committed to accelerating market innovation using a balanced program portfolio of funding opportunities, initiatives, and prize challenges.

This notice announces receipt and publication of a petition for waiver submitted by the Sub-Zero Group, Inc. from specified portions of the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) test procedure for determining the energy consumption of electric refrigerators and refrigerator-freezers. Sub-Zero's request pertains to the specific hybrid refrigerated ``storage-wine storage'' basic models set forth in its petition. Sub-Zero seeks permission to use an alternate test procedure to test the wine chiller compartment of these devices at 55[emsp14][deg]F instead of the prescribed temperature of 39[emsp14][deg]F. That procedure would apply a K factor (correction factor) value of 0.85 when calculating the energy consumption of a tested model and replace the energy consumption calculation currently required under 10 CFR Part 430, Appendix A. DOE solicits comments, data, and information concerning Sub-Zero's petition and the suggested alternate test procedure. Today's notice also grants Sub-Zero with an interim waiver from the electric refrigerator-freezer test procedure, subject to use of the alternative test procedure set forth in this notice.

The Department of Energy (DOE) today gives notice of a request for information on photovoltaic reliability and durability research and development. Photovoltaic modules are exposed to severe operating conditions involving temperature, thermal cycling, UV radiation, humidity, environmental weathering and soiling, electrical and other stresses. It is necessary to address the risk and uncertainty in photovoltaic performance due to these conditions in order to enable greater investor confidence, which ultimately can lead to lower financing costs and greater volume of installations. The DOE SunShot Program therefore requests information to determine fruitful areas of research and development that could lead to improved reliability and durability of photovoltaic modules, with the purpose of creating increased appetite for photovoltaic projects for investors, developers, integrators, and utilities. The RFI document is posted at: https://eere-exchange.energy.gov.