[Federal Register Volume 76, Number 250 (Thursday, December 29, 2011)]
[Notices]
[Pages 81920-81921]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2011-33416]
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
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 Recovery Act projects
funded by EERE for (1) Multi-colored Full Wave Rectified strands of
5mm, conical shaped LED mini bulbs in molded sockets with 4'' spacing
between bulbs, UL listed with a minimum 50,000 hour lamp life; (2)
Ancillary items needed for a T-12 to T-8 retrofit, including the
ballast disconnects, ancillary wiring and welding materials where
needed, and the spacing clip to accommodate T-8 bulbs into a T-12
fixture; and (3) Roof integrated flat plate collectors producing 1250
btu/square foot, where the installation requires a roof integrated
solar collector to meet local historic preservation or local building
standards.
DATES: Effective Date: 9/12/2011.
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 American Recovery and
Reinvestment Act of 2009 (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''). The authority of the Secretary of Energy to make
all inapplicability determinations was re-delegated to the Assistant
Secretary for
[[Page 81921]]
Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE), for EERE projects under
the Recovery Act, in Redelegation Order No. 00-002.01E, dated April 25,
2011. Pursuant to this delegation the Acting Assistant Secretary, EERE,
has concluded that: (1) Multi-colored Full Wave Rectified strands of
5mm, conical shaped LED mini bulbs in molded sockets with 4'' spacing
between bulbs, UL listed with a minimum 50,000 hour lamp life; (2)
Ancillary items needed for a T-12 to T-8 retrofit, including the
ballast disconnects, ancillary wiring and welding materials where
needed, and the spacing clip to accommodate T-8 bulbs into a T-12
fixture; and (3) Roof integrated flat plate collectors producing 1250
btu/square foot, where the installation requires a roof integrated
solar collector to meet local historic preservation or local building
standards, are not produced or manufactured in the United States in
sufficient and reasonably available quantities and of a satisfactory
quality. The above items, when 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 determinations.
The 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 four products in
the current waiver, EERE reviewed the information provided and
submitted the relevant technical information to the MEP. The MEP then
used their network of nationwide centers to scout for domestic
manufacturers. The 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 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
for these items have been unsuccessful.
Specific technical information for the manufactured goods included
in this non-availability determination is detailed below:
(1) Multi-colored Full Wave Rectified strands of 5mm, conical
shaped LED mini bulbs in molded sockets with 4'' spacing between bulbs,
UL listed with a minimum 50,000 hour lamp life.
Through market research and a referral to MEP no American made
product was located. No decorative LED bulbs of any kind are made in
the United States. In projects where decorative lights are used for
extended periods of time, the energy savings is significant.
(2) Ancillary items needed for a T-12 to T-8 retrofit, including
the ballast disconnects, ancillary wiring and welding materials where
needed, and the spacing clip to accommodate T-8 bulbs into a T-12
fixture.
Extensive market research revealed these items are not manufactured
domestically. The remaining items utilized in the retrofit, including
bulbs, or in cases where the entire fixture is being replaced, the
fixture as a whole, must be compliant with Buy American.
(3) Roof integrated flat plate collectors producing 1250 btu/square
foot, where the installation requires a roof integrated solar collector
to meet local historic preservation or local building standards.
This is reserved for cases in which a roof integrated collector is
required, neither NREL nor MEP located domestic producers of flat plate
collectors that could meet this need. The remaining parts of each
system must be compliant with Buy American. In light of the foregoing,
and under the authority of section 1605(b)(2) of Public Law 111-5 and
Redelegation Order 00-002-01E, with respect to Recovery Act projects
funded by EERE, I hereby issue a ``determination of inapplicability''
(a waiver under the Recovery Act Buy American provision) for: (1)
Multi-colored Full Wave Rectified strands of 5mm, conical shaped LED
mini bulbs in molded sockets with 4'' spacing between bulbs, UL listed
with a minimum 50,000 hour lamp life; (2) Ancillary items needed for a
T-12 to T-8 retrofit, including the ballast disconnects, ancillary
wiring and welding materials where needed, and the spacing clip to
accommodate T-8 bulbs into a T-12 fixture; and (3) Roof integrated flat
plate collectors producing 1250 btu/square foot, where the installation
requires a roof integrated solar collector to meet local historic
preservation or local building standards.
Having established a proper justification based on domestic
nonavailability, EERE hereby provides notice that on September 12,
2011, three (3) 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 his responsibility. Consequently, this waiver
applies to all EERE projects carried out under the Recovery Act.
Authority: Pub. L. 111-5, section 1605.
Issued in Washington, DC on September 12, 2011.
Henry Kelly,
Acting Assistant Secretary, Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy,
U.S. Department of Energy.
[FR Doc. 2011-33416 Filed 12-28-11; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6450-01-P