[Federal Register Volume 77, Number 167 (Tuesday, August 28, 2012)]
[Notices]
[Pages 51983-51985]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2012-21242]
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DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY
Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy
Availability of Department of Energy EV Everywhere Grand
Challenge Initial Framing Document and Request for Public Comment
AGENCY: Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy, Department of
Energy (DOE).
ACTION: Notice of availability and request for public comment.
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SUMMARY: The EV Everywhere Grand Challenge is a U.S. Department of
Energy ``Clean Energy Grand Challenge'' with the goal of enabling U.S.
companies to be the first in the world to produce plug-in electric
vehicles (PEVs) that are as affordable and convenient for the average
American family as today's gasoline-powered vehicles within the next 10
years. President Obama announced the EV Everywhere Challenge on March
7, 2012.
The EV Everywhere Initial Framing Document (framing document) has
been developed as a principal means of facilitating stakeholder
engagement in
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the planning process. The framing document describes three potential
combinations of PEVs and charging infrastructures, among other possible
scenarios, and identifies preliminary technical targets for each of
these vehicle and infrastructure scenarios.
The framing document is intended to serve as the common framework
for stakeholder engagement through public information exchanges and
public comment.
DATES: Public comments on this proposed framing document must be
received on or before October 29, 2012 to ensure consideration.
ADDRESSES: Electronic mail comments may be submitted to: [email protected]. Please include ``EV Everywhere'' in the subject
line. Please put the full body of your comments in the text of the
electronic message and as an attachment. Please include your name,
title, organization, postal address, telephone number, and email
address in the text of the message.
Written comments should be sent to Mr. David Howell, Office of
Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EE-2G), U.S. Department of
Energy, 1000 Independence Avenue SW, Washington, DC 20585-0121 or by
fax at 202-586-1600, or by email at [email protected].
Respondents are encouraged to submit comments electronically to
ensure timely receipt. The DOE EV Everywhere framing document can be
accessed at http://www1.eere.energy.gov/vehiclesandfuels/.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For information concerning this
notice, contact Mr. David Howell, Office of Energy Efficiency and
Renewable Energy (EE-2G), U.S. Department of Energy, 1000 Independence
Avenue SW, Washington, DC 20585-0121, or [email protected].
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: This notice requests public comment on the
following questions related to the DOE EV Everywhere Grand Challenge
and the framing document. Commenters are welcome to respond to all
questions below, or only respond to select questions.
A. EV Everywhere Mission and Scope: Is the mission statement, ``to
enable U.S. companies to be the first in the world to produce plug-in
electric vehicles (PEVs) that are as affordable and convenient for the
average American family as today's gasoline-powered vehicles within the
next 10 years'' appropriate for the technology development and
deployment programs of the Department? Is the goal of developing ``PEVs
with a payback time of less than 5 years and sufficient range and fast-
charging ability to allow the average American family to meet their
daily transportation needs'' appropriate? Is a payback time of less
than 5 years the right measure of affordability or is there a more
appropriate metric? Should the scope be limited to ``PEVs in which the
majority of miles driven are electric'' or should the goal be ``to
maximize the national total of electric vehicle miles driven''?
B. Plug-in Electric Vehicle Scenarios. DOE has identified three
potential vehicle/infrastructure scenarios that might achieve the EV
Everywhere goals. These scenarios are:
1. A plug-in hybrid electric vehicle with a 40-mile all-electric
range (PHEV-40) with limited fast-charge infrastructure;
2. An all-electric vehicle with a 100-mile range (AEV-100) with
significant intra-city and inter-city fast charge infrastructure; and
3. An all-electric vehicle with a 300-mile range (AEV-300) with
significant inter-city fast charge infrastructure.
Have we correctly identified and structured these three scenarios?
Are there other scenarios that are more appropriate?
C. U.S. Plug-in Electric Vehicle Leadership. How can DOE activities
best support leadership in plug-in electric vehicle innovation? In PEV
manufacturing? In PEV deployment? How do we balance international
competitiveness against international cooperation?
D. Program Definition and Management. What principles should the
Department follow for allocating resources among technologies of
disparate maturity and potential time to impact? How many technology
options should the Department pursue, and how should the value of that
diversity be weighed against timeliness, scale, and cost-
effectiveness? How can DOE be more effective at each stage of the
innovation chain? Are technology targets (e.g., cost or deployment
targets) useful markers to orient and structure DOE activities?
E. Public/Private Partnership. What are the optimal roles for the
private sector, government laboratories, and academia in accelerating
PEV technology innovation? How can DOE best coordinate activities
between and among these types of organizations (including the wide
variety of institutions within each class)? How should we gauge the
effectiveness of this coordination? How can the basic research and
applied research and development coupling be optimized? Are there
examples in other sectors or other countries that can serve as models?
Are ``technology user facilities'' analogous to the Department's
scientific user facilities possible, or even desirable? If so, what
would be the most effective model for their operation? How can the
Department best gather technology market information? How can
information on private sector innovation be captured without
compromising competitive advantage?
G. Non-Technical Barriers. A number of non-technical barriers--
including Federal, State, and local regulations, market risks, and non-
technical risks--impact the rate of deployment of PEV technologies.
What role, if any, should the Department have in addressing these
barriers?
H. Technologies and Resources. The initial framing document
published in association with this announcement describes each of the
three scenarios mentioned in part B in greater detail, and highlights
several technologies that could contribute to success in each strategy.
We welcome updated technology, cost, and forecast data.
The Department also welcomes comment on the format and tone of the
framing document as well as identification of any factual errors or
omissions of relevant facts and data. The Department also welcomes any
additional comments related to the framing document and the EV
Everywhere Grand Challenge, generally.
Public Participation Policy
It is the policy of the Department to ensure that public
participation is an integral and effective part of DOE activities, and
that decisions are made with the benefit of significant public input
and perspectives.
The Department recognizes the many benefits to be derived from
public participation for both stakeholders and DOE. Public
participation provides a means for DOE to gather a diverse collection
of opinions, perspectives, and values from the broadest spectrum of the
public, enabling the Department to make more informed decisions. Public
participation benefits stakeholders by creating an opportunity to
provide input on decisions that affect their communities and our
Nation.
In keeping with the President's commitment to transparency in
Government, DOE will post online at http://www1.eere.energy.gov/vehiclesandfuels/ all submissions received from external parties in
response to this request for comment. In addition, DOE will discuss
this framing document and the submissions received
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from external parties with advisory committees, public information
exchanges, and expert discussion groups.
Issued in Washington, DC, on August 16, 2012.
Patrick B. Davis,
Program Manager, Vehicle Technologies Program, Energy Efficiency and
Renewable Energy.
[FR Doc. 2012-21242 Filed 8-27-12; 8:45 am]
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