[Federal Register Volume 76, Number 250 (Thursday, December 29, 2011)]
[Notices]
[Pages 81920-81921]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2011-33416]


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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 Recovery Act projects 
funded by EERE for (1) Multi-colored Full Wave Rectified strands of 
5mm, conical shaped LED mini bulbs in molded sockets with 4'' spacing 
between bulbs, UL listed with a minimum 50,000 hour lamp life; (2) 
Ancillary items needed for a T-12 to T-8 retrofit, including the 
ballast disconnects, ancillary wiring and welding materials where 
needed, and the spacing clip to accommodate T-8 bulbs into a T-12 
fixture; and (3) Roof integrated flat plate collectors producing 1250 
btu/square foot, where the installation requires a roof integrated 
solar collector to meet local historic preservation or local building 
standards.

DATES: Effective Date: 9/12/2011.

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 American Recovery and 
Reinvestment Act of 2009 (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''). The authority of the Secretary of Energy to make 
all inapplicability determinations was re-delegated to the Assistant 
Secretary for

[[Page 81921]]

Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE), for EERE projects under 
the Recovery Act, in Redelegation Order No. 00-002.01E, dated April 25, 
2011. Pursuant to this delegation the Acting Assistant Secretary, EERE, 
has concluded that: (1) Multi-colored Full Wave Rectified strands of 
5mm, conical shaped LED mini bulbs in molded sockets with 4'' spacing 
between bulbs, UL listed with a minimum 50,000 hour lamp life; (2) 
Ancillary items needed for a T-12 to T-8 retrofit, including the 
ballast disconnects, ancillary wiring and welding materials where 
needed, and the spacing clip to accommodate T-8 bulbs into a T-12 
fixture; and (3) Roof integrated flat plate collectors producing 1250 
btu/square foot, where the installation requires a roof integrated 
solar collector to meet local historic preservation or local building 
standards, are not produced or manufactured in the United States in 
sufficient and reasonably available quantities and of a satisfactory 
quality. The above items, when 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 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 four 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 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 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 
for these items have been unsuccessful.
    Specific technical information for the manufactured goods included 
in this non-availability determination is detailed below:
    (1) Multi-colored Full Wave Rectified strands of 5mm, conical 
shaped LED mini bulbs in molded sockets with 4'' spacing between bulbs, 
UL listed with a minimum 50,000 hour lamp life.
    Through market research and a referral to MEP no American made 
product was located. No decorative LED bulbs of any kind are made in 
the United States. In projects where decorative lights are used for 
extended periods of time, the energy savings is significant.
    (2) Ancillary items needed for a T-12 to T-8 retrofit, including 
the ballast disconnects, ancillary wiring and welding materials where 
needed, and the spacing clip to accommodate T-8 bulbs into a T-12 
fixture.
    Extensive market research revealed these items are not manufactured 
domestically. The remaining items utilized in the retrofit, including 
bulbs, or in cases where the entire fixture is being replaced, the 
fixture as a whole, must be compliant with Buy American.
    (3) Roof integrated flat plate collectors producing 1250 btu/square 
foot, where the installation requires a roof integrated solar collector 
to meet local historic preservation or local building standards.
    This is reserved for cases in which a roof integrated collector is 
required, neither NREL nor MEP located domestic producers of flat plate 
collectors that could meet this need. The remaining parts of each 
system must be compliant with Buy American. In light of the foregoing, 
and under the authority of section 1605(b)(2) of Public Law 111-5 and 
Redelegation Order 00-002-01E, 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: (1) 
Multi-colored Full Wave Rectified strands of 5mm, conical shaped LED 
mini bulbs in molded sockets with 4'' spacing between bulbs, UL listed 
with a minimum 50,000 hour lamp life; (2) Ancillary items needed for a 
T-12 to T-8 retrofit, including the ballast disconnects, ancillary 
wiring and welding materials where needed, and the spacing clip to 
accommodate T-8 bulbs into a T-12 fixture; and (3) Roof integrated flat 
plate collectors producing 1250 btu/square foot, where the installation 
requires a roof integrated solar collector to meet local historic 
preservation or local building standards.
    Having established a proper justification based on domestic 
nonavailability, EERE hereby provides notice that on September 12, 
2011, three (3) 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 September 12, 2011.
Henry Kelly,
Acting Assistant Secretary, Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy, 
U.S. Department of Energy.
[FR Doc. 2011-33416 Filed 12-28-11; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6450-01-P