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

The Department of Energy (DOE) has submitted to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for clearance a proposal for collection of information under the provisions of the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995. The proposed collection will gather opinions of experts in industry and other organizations regarding the impact on the development and diffusion of energy-efficient technologies and techniques in the construction of residential buildings of DOE/EERE Building Technologies Office (BTO) investments. Expert opinions are necessary to characterize expected patterns of technology development and diffusion in the absence of DOE investments, and so (by comparing these expectations with actual observations) estimate the difference DOE investments have made. This information is needed by DOE for budget justification and strategic planning. Respondents will include representatives of production builder companies (including companies that received DOE R&D funding and companies that received no direct funding from DOE).

On April 6, 2016, the Water Power Technologies Office within the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), published a notice in the Federal Register announcing a stakeholder meeting to receive comments on its request for information (RFI) to receive input for DOE's Outyear Marine and Hydrokinetic Program Strategy. Based on requests from several stakeholder to extend the RFI comment period, DOE has decided to reopen the RFI comment period.

The Department of Energy (DOE) gives notice of an extension from August 22, 2016 to September 9, 2016 to submit innovative U.S.- China energy performance contracting (EPC) projects. EPC projects at public, commercial, and industrial facilities located in the U.S. or China with project participation from at least one U.S. entity and at least one Chinese entity are eligible. Eligible entities include energy service companies (ESCOs), technology providers, facility owners or operators, and financiers. EPC projects that meet the 2016 Pilot Project Criteria and demonstrate replicability will receive special recognition at the 7th Annual U.S.-China Energy Efficiency Forum in October 2016 in Beijing. Some recognition recipients will be invited to speak at a special breakout session.

The Department of Energy pursuant to the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, is proposing to amend an information collection request with the Office of Management and Budget by adding an additional collection to an ICR that already includes two previously approved collections. The two previously approved collections address DOE's Plug-in Electric Vehicle (PEV) Scorecard, and the National Clean Fleets Partnership. The proposed new collection is entitled ``Ride and Drive Surveys for PEV Showcases''. DOE's Clean Cities initiative has developed a three-part voluntary ride-and-drive survey to assist its coalitions and stakeholders in assessing the level of interest, understanding, and acceptance of PEVs and alternative fuel vehicles (AFV) by the purchasing public. The principal objective of the Survey is to provide DOE and stakeholders with an objective assessment and estimate of how ready the purchasing public is for PEVs, and to help DOE's Clean Cities coalitions prepare for the successful deployment of these vehicles. DOE intends the surveys to be completed by individuals who are participating in one of many ride-and-drive events. Comments are invited on: (a) Whether the proposed collection of information is necessary for the proper performance of the functions of DOE, including whether the information shall have practical utility; (b) the accuracy of DOE'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) is updating Weatherization Health and Safety Guidance related to the implementation and installation of health and safety measures as part of the DOE Weatherization Assistance Program (WAP). The draft guidance also provides required components for Grantees to include in their Health and Safety (H&S) Plans. This guidance will assist Grantee decision- making during H&S Plan development. This notice also serves to inform the public of the availability of an online tool which provides notification of, and allows individuals to submit comments on, the draft guidance related to the DOE Weatherization Assistance Program. All future draft guidance releases will be made via the online tool. Individuals who wish to receive notification of draft guidance releases may receive that notification via the online tool. For information on the web address of the online tool see the ADDRESSES section of this notice.

The Department of Energy (DOE) has submitted to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for clearance a proposal for collection of information under the provisions of the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995. The proposed collection will gather opinions of experts in industry and other organizations regarding the impact on the development and diffusion of energy-efficient technologies and techniques in the construction of residential buildings of DOE/EERE Building Technologies Office (BTO) investments. Expert opinions are necessary to characterize expected patterns of technology development and diffusion in the absence of DOE investments, and so (by comparing these expectations with actual observations) estimate the difference DOE investments have made. This information is needed by DOE for budget justification and strategic planning. Respondents will include representatives of production builder companies (including companies that received DOE R&D funding and companies that received no direct funding from DOE).

This notice announces receipt of a petition for waiver from Johnston Boiler Company (Johnston) seeking an exemption from specified portions of the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) test procedure applicable to commercial packaged boilers. Johnston contends that some of their commercial packaged boilers cannot be accurately tested using the currently applicable DOE test procedure and, as a result, seeks to use an alternate test procedure to test these basic models. DOE solicits comments, data, and information concerning Johnston's petition and the suggested alternate test procedure.

This notice announces receipt of and publishes a petition for waiver from Thermal Solutions Products, LLC (Thermal Solutions) seeking an exemption from specified provisions applicable to standby loss of the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) test procedure for commercial water heating equipment. The waiver request pertains to Thermal Solutions' specified models of commercial instantaneous water heaters containing 10 gallons or more of water. In its petition, Thermal Solutions contends that its specified water heater models that employ tube-type heat exchangers and are designed to be flow activated cannot be accurately tested using the currently applicable DOE test procedure. Consequently, Thermal Solutions seeks to use an alternate test procedure to address certain issues involved in testing the specific basic models identified in its petition. DOE solicits comments, data, and information concerning Thermal Solutions' petition and its suggested alternate test procedure.

The Wind and Water Power Technologies Office (``WWPTO'') within the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) intends to hold a meeting to seek input on its draft wind energy environmental research strategy on June 24, 2016 from 8:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. in Boulder, Colorado at the National Renewable Energy Laboratory's (``NREL'') National Wind Technology Center (``NWTC''). At this meeting, the WWPTO will seek input on wind energy near-term and long-term environmental research priorities needed to help enable the sustainable development of wind energy technologies in the United States.

The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) gives notice of a decision and order (Case No. CW-026) that grants to Whirlpool Corporation (Whirlpool) a waiver from the DOE clothes washer test procedure for determining the energy consumption of clothes washers. Under this decision and order, Whirlpool is required to test and rate its clothes washers with clothes containers greater than 6.0 cubic feet using an alternate test procedure that takes this larger capacity into account when measuring energy consumption.

The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) is publishing Guidance for the Energy Policy Act of 2005 Section 242 program. The guidance describes the hydroelectric incentive payment requirements and explains the type of information that owners or authorized operators of qualified hydroelectric facilities can provide DOE when applying for hydroelectric incentive payments. This incentive is available for electric energy generated and sold for a specified 10-year period as authorized under section 242 of the Energy Policy Act of 2005. In Congressional appropriations for Federal fiscal year 2016, DOE received funds to support this hydroelectric incentive program. At this time, DOE is only accepting applications from owners and authorized operators of qualified hydroelectric facilities for hydroelectricity generated and sold in calendar year 2015.

This notice announces receipt of a petition for waiver from York-Shipley Global, Division of AESYS Technologies, LLC (York-Shipley) seeking an exemption from specified portions of the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) test procedure applicable to commercial packaged boilers. York-Shipley contends that some of their commercial packaged boilers cannot be accurately tested using the currently applicable DOE test procedure and, as a result, seeks to use an alternate test procedure to test these basic models. DOE solicits comments, data, and information concerning York-Shipley's petition and the suggested alternate test procedure.

The Department of Energy (DOE) has submitted to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for clearance a proposal for collection of information under the provisions of the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995. The proposed collection in support of the DOE's Small Business Vouchers (SBV) pilot will gather quantitative estimates of the pilot's impacts as well as capture implementation lessons learned. The information is needed to assess the impacts of the SBV Pilot, documenting that the investment is producing the expected results, and to determine ways to improve the pilot should it be expanded in scope. The SBV Pilot is a funding mechanism structured to allow small businesses engaged in the renewable energy and energy efficiency sectors to collaborate with researchers at the DOE National Laboratories and to take advantage of the resources at the Labs that assist small businesses in proceeding through commercialization challenges. Respondents will include small businesses participating in the pilot as well a comparison group of small businesses outside of the SBV Pilot.

The Wind and Water Power Technologies Office within the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) recently released a Request for Information to identify the challenges and opportunities faced by the pumped storage hydropower industry. DOE is now announcing two additional opportunities to obtain individual stakeholder insight into the technical and market challenges and potential pathways to facilitate the development of pumped storage in the U.S.: A public workshop and a subsequent webinar entitled, ``Challenges and Opportunities for Pumped Storage Hydropower.''

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 2016 pursuant to the Energy Policy and Conservation Act. The five sources are electricity, natural gas, No. 2 heating oil, propane, and kerosene.

The Department of Energy (DOE) gives notice of a Request for Information: ``Accounting Conventions for Non-Combustible Renewable Energy Use'' regarding using an alternative methodology for calculating source energy from non-combustible renewable resources in analysis that informs DOE, Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE) products, reports, and standardssuch as the Home Energy Score. The current approach uses the equivalent average heat rate of fossil fuels to convert renewable electricity to source energy (approximately 9,500 BTU/kWh), while the proposed approach would use the heat content of electricity (3,412 BTU/kWh). This proposed change would better represent the lack of fuels used in generating renewable electricity, and would result in a slightly lower site-to-source ratio than the current approach.

The Department of Energy (DOE) announces public meetings and webinars for 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 Department of Energy (DOE) is announcing the following web-based public workshop entitled, ``Field Testing and Verification for Project DE-EE0006789, [Assimilation of Wave Imaging Radar Observations for Real-time Wave-by-Wave Forecasting]''. The purpose of the meeting is for DOE to obtain industry feedback regarding field testing and verification of the wave-by-wave forecasting system under development.

This notice announces receipt of a petition for waiver from Whirlpool Corporation (Whirlpool) seeking an exemption from specified portions of the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) test procedure for determining the energy consumption of residential clothes washers. Whirlpool seeks to use an alternate test procedure to address certain issues involved in testing certain specific basic clothes washer models identified in its petition that container volumes between 6.0 cubic feet and 8.0 cubic feet that Whirlpool contends cannot be accurately tested using the currently applicable DOE test procedure. DOE solicits comments, data, and information concerning Whirlpool's petition and its suggested alternate test procedure. This notice also grants Whirlpool with an interim waiver from the residential clothes washer test procedure, subject to use of the alternative test procedure set forth in this notice.

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. The proposed collection in support of the DOE's Small Business Vouchers (SBV) pilot will gather quantitative estimates of the pilot's impacts as well as capture implementation lessons learned. The information is needed to assess the impacts of the SBV Pilot, documenting that the investment is producing the expected results, and to determine ways to improve the pilot should it be expanded in scope. The SBV Pilot is a funding mechanism structured to allow small businesses engaged in the renewable energy and energy efficiency sectors to collaborate with researchers at the DOE National Laboratories and to take advantage of the resources at the Labs that assist small businesses in proceeding through commercialization challenges. Respondents will include small businesses participating in the pilot as well a comparison group of businesses with Cooperative Research and Development Agreements (CRADA) outside of the SBV Pilot. 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 Department of Energy (DOE) announces public meetings and webinars for 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 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 or Department) has updated its methodology for assessing the cost-effectiveness of building energy codes. The Department relies upon this methodology in evaluating both potential code changes and entire new editions of model codes, such as the International Energy Conservation Code (IECC) and the American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air-Conditioning Engineers (ASHRAE) Standard 90.1. DOE developed its methodology through a public process, and reviews its methods regularly to ensure its underlying analysis and assumptions remain valid.

The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) is initiating an effort to determine whether to amend the current energy conservation standards for room air conditioners (room ACs). According to the Energy Policy and Conservation Act's 6-year review requirement, DOE must publish by April 8, 2017 a notice of proposed rulemaking (NOPR) to propose new standards for room ACs or a notice of determination that the existing standards do not need to be amended. This RFI seeks to solicit information from the public to help DOE determine whether amended standards for room ACs would result in a significant amount of additional energy savings and whether those standards would be technologically feasible and economically justified. In addition, DOE has identified several issues associated with the currently applicable test procedure for room ACs on which DOE is particularly interested in receiving comment.

The Department of Energy (DOE) has submitted to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for clearance, a proposal for collection of information under the provisions of the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995. The proposed collection will enable DOE to understand the universe of organizations participating in four voluntary programs: Zero Energy Ready Home Program, the Better Buildings Residential Network, the Home Energy Score, and the Home Performance with ENERGY STAR Program (HPwES). The information gathered by DOE in these four programs is necessary for DOE to run the programs effectively.