[Federal Register Volume 77, Number 237 (Monday, December 10, 2012)]
[Notices]
[Pages 73458-73459]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2012-29759]
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DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY
Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy
[Docket Number: EERE-2012-VT-0049]
Vehicle Technologies Program; Request for Information
AGENCY: Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy and Office of
the General Counsel, Department of Energy.
ACTION: Request for information; request for comment.
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SUMMARY: The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) wishes to continue
promoting and improving the electronic tools it makes available to
assist fleets and consumers in reducing petroleum consumption in
vehicles. DOE is seeking partners interested in including customized
versions of the electronic tools, as well as other relevant data sets
and content, on their Web sites. To facilitate this process, DOE is
publishing this request for information (RFI) to solicit feedback on
DOE's current Web site tools.
DATES: Written comments and information are requested by January 9,
2013.
ADDRESSES: Interested persons are encouraged to submit comments using
the Federal eRulemaking Portal at http://www.regulations.gov. Follow
the instructions for submitting comments. Alternatively, interested
persons may submit comments, identified by docket number EERE-2012-VT-
0049, by one of the following methods:
1. Email: [email protected]. Include EERE-2012-VT-0049 in the
subject line of the message.
2. Mail or deliver: Ms. Shannon Shea, U.S. Department of Energy,
(EE-2G), Room 5F-034, 1000 Independence Avenue SW., Washington, DC
20585-0121, Telephone: (202) 586-8161. Please submit one signed paper
original.
Instructions: All submissions received must include the agency name
and docket number for this request.
Docket: For access to the docket to read background documents, or
comments received, go to the Federal eRulemaking Portal at http://www.regulations.gov.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Ms. Shannon Shea, U.S. Department of Energy, (EE-2G), Room 5F-034, 1000
Independence Avenue SW., Washington, DC 20585-0121, Telephone: (202)
586-8161, Email: [email protected].
Mr. Ari Altman, U.S. Department of Energy, Office of the General
Counsel, (GC-71), 1000 Independence Avenue SW., Washington, DC 20585,
Telephone: (202) 287-6307, Email: [email protected].
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
I. Authority and Background
FuelEconomy.gov is authorized under the 1975 Energy Policy and
Conservation Act (Pub. L. 94-163), which required DOE to publish and
distribute the annual Fuel Economy Guide to consumers. DOE established
FuelEconomy.gov to complement the printed Guide and expand the
accessibility of information to consumers. The Alternative Fuels Data
Center (AFDC; afdc.energy.gov) was authorized by the 1988 Alternative
Motor Fuels Act (Pub. L. 100-494), which contained provisions to
formally establish an alternative fuels education and data resource
center. Clean Cities, within the Office of Energy Efficiency and
Renewable Energy's Vehicle Technologies Program, is authorized under
the Energy Policy Act of 1992 (Pub. L. 102-486) and manages both
FuelEconomy.gov and the AFDC. Under these statutes, both Web sites are
authorized to make information and data available to the public. By
providing a variety of tools, databases, and informational resources on
fuel-efficient and alternative fuel vehicles, both Web sites help users
make decisions about which transportation options are right for them.
These Web sites feature 14 interactive web tools (afdc.energy.gov/tools) that allow users to view and use data in a variety of ways.
These tools include calculators, interactive maps, and data searches.
DOE also offers eight ``widgets'' based on the Web site
functionality described above. A widget is a simplified version of a
tool or Web site that provides many of the same features, but in a
separate application that independent Web site operators can ``drop
in'' to their Web sites with a minimal amount of web coding. For
example: DOE launched the Find-A-Car widget on FuelEconomy.gov (http://www.fueleconomy.gov/feg/findacar.shtml) in September 2012. The full
version of this tool allows users to search for any car from 1984
onward and compare it to any other one on fuel economy, greenhouse gas
emissions, energy impact, and cost of fuel. The widget version has a
simpler and more targeted purpose, allowing users to find the fuel
economy of any car, also from 1984 onward. FuelEconomy.gov also has a
``Fuel Saving Tip of the Week'' widget, launched in May 2011. This
widget is not based on a pre-existing interactive tool, but rather on
FuelEconomy.gov's Gas Mileage Tips section. Both widgets are available
at www.fueleconomy.gov/widgets.
DOE launched the Vehicle Cost Calculator (www.afdc.energy.gov/calculator) and accompanying widgets on the AFDC in October 2011. The
full version of this tool allows users to provide basic information
about driving habits to compare emissions and lifetime operating costs
of specific vehicle models, including conventional cars and trucks, as
well as vehicles running on alternative fuels such as electricity,
ethanol, natural gas, or biodiesel. This tool has a basic widget
version, which allows users to select a representative alternative fuel
vehicle (not a specific model, as in the full version) and compare its
fuel cost and emissions to a similar conventional vehicle. This tool
also has four specialty
[[Page 73459]]
widgets that each focus on a specific type of alternative fuel vehicle
(biodiesel, compressed natural gas, E85, and electric drive).
Finally, DOE launched the Alternative Fueling Station Locator
widget on the AFDC in August 2012. The full tool allows users to obtain
addresses, maps, and driving directions for charging and alternative
fueling stations near a particular address. The widget version allows
users to embed a specific section of the locator map on their Web site,
so that they can highlight a particular geographic area or a particular
fuel.
Working with outside partners to modify and distribute both these
tools and their accompanying widgets will expose this information to a
larger pool of users and help consumers find it on Web sites that they
already frequent.
II. Public Participation
A. Submission of Comments
DOE will accept comments in response to this RFI under the timeline
provided in the DATES section above. Comments submitted to the
Department through the eRulemaking Portal or by email should be
provided in WordPerfect, Microsoft Word, PDF, or text file format.
Those responding should avoid the use of special characters or any form
of encryption, and wherever possible, comments should include the
electronic signature of the author. Comments submitted to the
Department by mail or hand delivery/courier should include one signed
original paper copy. No telefacsimiles will be accepted.
The Department encourages interested parties to contact DOE if they
would like to meet in person to discuss their comments. The
Department's policy governing ex parte communications is posted on the
Office of the General Counsel's Web site at: http://www.gc.energy.gov/1309.htm.
Confidential Business Information. According to 10 CFR 1004.11, any
person submitting information that he or she believes to be
confidential and exempt by law from public disclosure should submit via
email, postal mail, or hand delivery two well-marked copies: one copy
of the document marked confidential including all the information
believed to be confidential, and one copy of the document marked non-
confidential with the information believed to be confidential deleted.
Submit these documents via email or on a CD, if feasible. DOE will make
its own determination about the confidential status of the information
and treat it according to its determination.
Factors of interest to DOE when evaluating requests to treat
submitted information as confidential include: (1) A description of the
items; (2) whether and why such items are customarily treated as
confidential within the industry; (3) whether the information is
generally known by or available from other sources; (4) whether the
information has previously been made available to others without
obligation concerning its confidentiality; (5) an explanation of the
competitive injury to the submitting person that would result from
public disclosure; (6) when such information might lose its
confidential character due to the passage of time; and (7) why
disclosure of the information would be contrary to the public interest.
It is DOE's policy that all comments may be included in the public
docket, without change and as received, including any personal
information provided in the comments (except information deemed to be
exempt from public disclosure).
B. Issues on Which DOE Seeks Information
Although DOE welcomes comments on any aspect of this request for
information, DOE is particularly interested in receiving comments and
views of interested parties concerning the availability of DOE's
transportation-oriented electronic tools, as well as the potential to
partner with Internet information providers, as set forth below.
(1) Current Electronic Tools and Content
DOE would like to expand the reach of its current electronic tools
designed to reduce petroleum use in transportation. The Vehicle Cost
Calculator and the Alternative Fueling Station Locator on the AFDC, as
well as the Find-A-Car tool and Gas Saving Tips on FuelEconomy.gov, are
all currently available in ``widget'' form. Are the full tools
currently available useful? Are the widget versions of these tools
useful? Are there other existing tools on the AFDC or FuelEconomy.gov
that your company would like available as widgets? Would your company
embed the current widgets on its Web site? Why or why not? Are there
other types of content on the AFDC and FuelEconomy.gov sites besides
the current electronic tools that Web site operators would like to use?
(2) Interest in Partnering on Electronic Tool Customization
While any independent Web site can use the tools in widget form,
DOE is interested in partnering with major Web sites that provide
information on vehicles to consumers and fleet managers to offer
customized versions of these widgets. Ideal candidates are entities
whose users, stakeholders, or members look to them for information
about vehicle purchases. The primary objective of the effort is to pair
the capabilities of interested entities with DOE's electronic tools to
provide additional value to partner Web sites, and in turn, more value
and education about transportation options to end users. DOE seeks to
identify entities with whom to collaborate on this effort. Note that
DOE is not offering funding related to this request. What companies
would be interested in such a collaboration? What services do they
currently offer to users and how would these widgets complement those
services? What is the membership or user base of these existing Web
sites? What types of customization would these Web sites want for the
widgets described previously?
Issued in Washington, DC, on November 19, 2012.
Patrick B. Davis,
Program Manager, Vehicle Technologies Program, Energy Efficiency and
Renewable Energy.
[FR Doc. 2012-29759 Filed 12-7-12; 8:45 am]
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