[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]


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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.

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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