[Federal Register Volume 59, Number 140 (Friday, July 22, 1994)]
[Unknown Section]
[Page 0]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 94-17903]


[[Page Unknown]]

[Federal Register: July 22, 1994]


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DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY
 

Golden Field Office; Notice of Financial Assistance Award to 
Geothermal Resources Council

AGENCY: Department of Energy.

ACTION: Notice of financial assistance award in response to a non-
competitive financial assistance application.

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SUMMARY: The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) pursuant to the DOE 
Financial Assistance Rules, 10 CFR 600.7(b)(2) is announcing its 
intention make a financial assistance award to the Geothermal Resources 
Council to distribute educational material and to provide a service to 
the geothermal community.

ADDRESSES: Questions regarding this announcement may be addressed to 
the U.S. Department of Energy, Golden Field Office, 1617 Cole Blvd., 
Golden, CO 80401, Attention: Ruth E. Adams, Contract Specialist or at 
(303) 275-4722. The Contracting Officer for this action is John W. 
Meeker, and the Project Officer is Jeffrey L. Hahn.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: This proposal was a solicited application. 
The Geothermal Resource Council, with headquarters in Davis, 
California, is a non-profit organization incorporated in the state of 
California, has been funded in the past by the DOE-Geothermal Program 
Office through a contract with Sandia National Laboratory. However, the 
Department believes that since this effort is intended to benefit the 
United States public, that a grant mechanism is a more appropriate 
method of providing funding. Competition for this effort would have an 
adverse effect on continuity and completion of the activities.
    The programmatic evaluation [see 10 CFC 600.7(b)(2)(ii)(D)] 
completed for this proposal resulted in a recommendation to fund this 
application for the following reasons:
    The proposed project will contribute to the DOE mission of ``* * * 
providing the scientific and educational foundation and technology * * 
* necessary to achieve efficiency in energy use, diversity in energy 
sources, and access to technical information * * *'' (quotation from 
the Energy Mission Statement). The Geothermal Resources Council (GRC) 
will do this by providing services to support the geothermal industry 
through various activities and projects that are described below.
    Through this financial assistance the GRC (a non-profit 
organization) will be able to continue to act as a focal point for the 
geothermal industry. The objectives for this grant are as follows:
    (1) Develop Geothermal Poster--The poster will show the major 
components of geothermal resource development: history occurrence, 
exploration, production, utilization, potential and its environmental 
advantageous. The poster will be distributed to Junior and Senior high 
school and college students.
    (2) GRC Annual Meeting--The DOE would be a sponsor for the annual 
GRC meeting where papers are presented and discussed. At the 1993 
annual GRC meeting, there were approximately 600 registered attendees 
and 60 vendors.
    (3) Drilling School--Well Control Course--This course will certify 
regulators in well control, thereby helping to ensure geothermal 
drilling operations are conducted in an environmentally sound manner.
    (4) Expansion of the GRC On-line Library--The current database will 
be enlarged by adding new citations and increasing the keywords that 
can be searched for. The library will be a valuable tool for the 
geothermal community.
    (5) Geothermal Heat Pump Training Center--Provide the seed money to 
design and construct a heat pump training center. The training center 
would be used to train dealers, architects, engineers, students, etc. 
on topics such as Heating Ventilation and Air Conditioning (HVAC) 
basics of heat pumps, HVAC heat pump installation and service and 
ground loop installation. The Geothermal Heat Pump Training Center 
would only be used for training purposes, no research will be conducted 
at this site. The majority of the funding will be provided by utilities 
and heat pump manufacturers.
    (6) World Solar Summit--Two GRC representatives will attend the 
World Solar Summit in Barcelona, Spain with the purpose of establishing 
and maintaining foreign governmental and industrial contacts that are 
critical for the U.S. geothermal export program.
    The probability of meeting the objectives listed below are very 
high, given that the GRC has been successful in the past for similar 
endeavors.
    The staff of the Geothermal Resources Council is uniquely qualified 
to provide this service. The GRC Staff is well known and respected 
throughout the geothermal industry.
    The GRC's base of operations is in an office that is fully capable 
of meeting their needs.
    The budget proposed for the anticipated work was reviewed and is 
considered to be appropriate and adequate.
    The major public benefit to be derived from the projects and 
activities are providing educational material to various stakeholders 
(i.e., students, teachers, utilities, industry, and the public), and a 
technology transfer service to the geothermal community. The services 
that are being provided through this grant are: Forums for presentation 
and discussion of topics of general interest to the geothermal 
community; an educational program to keep well regulators updated and 
certified, expansion of an on-line library which provides access to 
publications on geothermal energy, as well as a list of geothermal 
power plants worldwide and a list of vendors of U.S. geothermal goods 
and services, assistance in providing a training center for geothermal 
heat pumps which is a very efficient method of heating and cooling 
buildings, and help in promoting the exportation of U.S. goods and 
services.
    The services provided through the proposed grant are vital and 
strongly support the geothermal program's direction and objectives. The 
Geothermal Resources Council, a Section 501 (c)(3) organization, is 
uniquely qualified and positioned to perform the above mentioned tasks 
since the GRC is an accepted and respected industry organization. The 
GRC has established an information network which is continually 
growing. The effort is a continuation of work which has been funded by 
DOE and competition for this effort would have a significant adverse 
impact on the continuity of the proposed activities.

    Issued in Golden, Colorado on: July 12, 1994.
John W. Meeker,
Procurement Chief, Golden Field Office.
[FR Doc. 94-17903 Filed 7-21-94; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6450-01-M