[Federal Register Volume 76, Number 151 (Friday, August 5, 2011)]
[Notices]
[Pages 47568-47569]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2011-19887]


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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: five kilowatt (5kW) and 
fifty kilowatt (50kW) wind turbines for use on eligible EERE-Recovery 
Act funded projects.

DATES: Effective Date: July 8, 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 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 April 25, 2011, the authority of the 
Secretary of Energy to make all inapplicability determinations was re-
delegated 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: five kilowatt (5kW) and fifty kilowatt (50kW) wind 
turbines qualify for the ``nonavailability'' waiver determination when 
utilized in eligible EERE Recovery Act-funded projects where the wind 
resource and needs of the project require such size.
    While there are US manufacturers of turbines appropriate for the 
needs of the great majority of EERE funded wind projects, there are 
currently no US manufacturers of five kilowatt (5kW) or fifty kilowatt 
(50kW) turbines.
    The EERE Buy American Coordinator has worked with many 
manufacturing stakeholders to scout for domestic manufacturing capacity 
or an equivalent product for each item contained in this waiver. This 
included the Small Wind Manufacturing Council, the Distributed Wind 
Energy Association, and the American Wind Energy Association. EERE also 
conducted significant amounts of independent research, including 
utilizing the small wind experts employed by the Department of Energy's 
National Renewable Energy Laboratory. In addition, this nonavailability 
determination is informed by the many 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 five kilowatt 
(5kW) and fifty kilowatt (50kW) turbines have been unsuccessful.
    For all Recovery Act Buy American waiver requests, EERE also 
employs a comprehensive process to ascertain in a systematic and 
expedient manner whether or not there is domestic manufacturing 
capacity for the items submitted for a waiver. 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 two 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

[[Page 47569]]

not locate any domestic manufacturers for these exact or equivalent 
items.
    The research efforts of MEP confirmed EERE's findings that the 5kW 
and 50kW turbines referenced in this waiver are not produced in the 
United States in sufficient and reasonably available quantities and of 
a satisfactory quality.
    In light of the foregoing, and under the authority of section 
1605(b)(2) of Public Law 111-5 and Redelegation Order 00-002-01D, 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: five kilowatt (5kW) and fifty kilowatt 
(50kW) wind turbines, when used on eligible EERE Recovery Act-funded 
projects.
    This waiver determination is pursuant to the delegation of 
authority by the Secretary of Energy to the Acting Assistant Secretary 
for Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy with respect to expenditures 
within the purview of his responsibility. Consequently, this waiver 
applies only to EERE projects carried out under the Recovery Act.
    Having established a proper justification based on domestic 
nonavailability, EERE hereby provides notice that on July 8, 2011, two 
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 July 8, 2011.
Henry Kelly,
Acting Assistant Secretary, Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy, 
U.S. Department of Energy.
[FR Doc. 2011-19887 Filed 8-4-11; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6450-01-P