[Federal Register Volume 75, Number 164 (Wednesday, August 25, 2010)]
[Notices]
[Pages 52323-52324]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2010-21116]
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY
Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy
Nationwide Categorical Waivers Under Section 1605 (Buy American)
of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (Recovery Act)
AGENCY: Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy, U.S.
Department of Energy (DOE).
ACTION: Notice of limited waivers.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
SUMMARY: 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.
DATES: Effective Date: August 11, 2010.
[[Page 52324]]
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Benjamin Goldstein, Energy Technology
Program Specialist, Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy
(EERE), (202) 287-1553, Department of Energy, 1000 Independence Avenue,
SW., Mailstop EE-2K, Washington, DC 20585.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Under the authority of the Recovery Act,
Public Law 111-5, section 1605(b)(2), the head of a federal department
or agency may issue a ``determination of inapplicability'' (a waiver of
the Buy American provision) if the iron, steel, or relevant
manufactured good is not produced or manufactured in the United States
in sufficient and reasonably available quantities and of a satisfactory
quality (``nonavailability''). On November 10, 2009, the Secretary of
Energy delegated the authority to make all inapplicability
determinations to the Assistant Secretary for Energy Efficiency and
Renewable Energy (EERE), for EERE projects under the Recovery Act.
Pursuant to this delegation the Assistant Secretary, EERE, has
concluded that 24-leaf, motorized DMX iris units (items used in
conjunction with a Source 4 lighting instrument in the theatrical
lighting business); Induction lamps and ballasts for induction lighting
systems (this waiver does not include fixtures for induction lighting,
which are readily available from domestic manufacturers); 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 qualify for the ``nonavailability'' waiver
determination.
EERE has developed a robust process to ascertain in a systematic
and expedient manner whether or not there is domestic manufacturing
capacity for the items submitted for a waiver of the Recovery Act Buy
American provision. This process involves a close collaboration with
the United States Department of Commerce National Institute of
Standards and Technology (NIST) Manufacturing Extension Partnership
(MEP), in order to scour the domestic manufacturing landscape in search
of producers before making any nonavailability.
The NIST MEP has 59 regional centers with substantial knowledge of,
and connections to, the domestic manufacturing sector. MEP uses their
regional centers to `scout' for current or potential manufacturers of
the product(s) submitted in a waiver request. In the course of this
interagency collaboration, MEP has been able to find exact or partial
matches for manufactured goods that EERE grantees had been unable to
locate. As a result, in those cases, EERE was able to work with the
grantees to procure American-made products rather than granting a
waiver.
Upon receipt of completed waiver requests for the seven products in
the current waiver, EERE reviewed the information provided and
submitted the relevant technical information to the NIST MEP. The MEP
then used their network of nationwide centers to scout for domestic
manufacturers. The NIST MEP reported that their scouting process did
not locate any domestic manufacturers for these exact or equivalent
items.
In addition to the MEP collaboration outlined above, the EERE Buy
American Coordinator worked with labor unions, trade associations and
other manufacturing stakeholders to scout for domestic manufacturing
capacity or an equivalent product for each item contained in this
waiver. EERE also conducted significant amounts of independent research
to supplement MEP's scouting efforts, including utilizing the solar
experts employed by the Department of Energy's National Renewable
Energy Laboratory. EERE's research efforts confirmed the MEP findings
that the goods included in this waiver are not produced in the United
States in sufficient and reasonably available quantities and of a
satisfactory quality.
The nonavailability determination is also informed by the inquiries
and petitions to EERE from recipients of EERE Recovery Act funds, and
from suppliers, distributors, retailers and trade associations--all
stating that their individual efforts to locate domestic manufacturers
have been unsuccessful.
Having established a proper justification based on domestic
nonavailability, EERE hereby provides notice that on August 11, 2010,
seven nationwide categorical waivers of section 1605 of the Recovery
Act were issued as detailed supra. This notice constitutes the detailed
written justification required by Section 1605(c) for waivers based on
a finding under subsection (b).
This waiver determination is pursuant to the delegation of
authority by the Secretary of Energy to the Assistant Secretary for
Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy with respect to expenditures
within the purview of her responsibility. Consequently, this waiver
applies to EERE projects carried out under the Recovery Act.
Authority: Pub. L. 111-5, section 1605.
Issued in Washington, DC, on August 16, 2010.
Cathy Zoi,
Assistant Secretary for Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy, U.S.
Department of Energy.
[FR Doc. 2010-21116 Filed 8-24-10; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6450-01-P