[Federal Register Volume 85, Number 174 (Tuesday, September 8, 2020)]
[Notices]
[Pages 55442-55443]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2020-19790]


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DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY


Request for Information: Understanding Workforce-Development 
Assets and Gaps for Technical and Non-Technical Bioenergy Workforce 
Preparation

AGENCY: Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy, Department of 
Energy.

ACTION: Request for information (RFI).

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SUMMARY: The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) invites public comment on 
its Request for Information (RFI) number DE-FOA-00002413 regarding 
bioenergy workforce-development methods and tools available, as well as 
those needed in the United States. Specifically, this RFI seeks to 
provide BETO with evidence-based workforce-development data to help 
individuals to link to existing and new bioenergy workforce-development 
tools in order to assist in preparing the nation's current and future 
workforce for the rapidly and continually changing workforce demands to 
reskill and upskill in the bioenergy industry.

DATES: Responses to the RFI must be received by November 2, 2020.

ADDRESSES: Interested parties are to submit comments electronically to 
[email protected]. Include ``Understanding Bioenergy Workforce-
Development Assets and Gaps RFI'' as the subject of the email. Only 
electronic responses will be accepted. The complete RFI document is 
located at https://eere-exchange.energy.gov/; use the drop down search 
fields or ``bioenergy WD'' in the search field at the upper right of 
the screen.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Sheila Dillard; Phone: (202) 375-9258; 
Email: [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: DOE's Bioenergy Technologies Office (BETO) 
focuses on applied research and development (R&D) to enable sustainable 
and cost-effective technologies that are capable of producing bioenergy 
from non-food sources, such as cellulosic biomass, algae, and wet 
waste. BETO allocates funding to National Laboratories and industry 
partners for R&D to reduce the price of biofuel, bioproduct, and 
biopower production while promoting a thriving U.S. bioeconomy. By 
working with public- and private-sector partners to advance the 
domestic bioenergy industry and accompanying workforce, BETO ensures 
that American families and businesses have multiple affordable and 
reliable energy and transportation options.
    This RFI seeks to provide evidence-based workforce-development data 
to help individuals link to existing and new bioenergy workforce-
development tools, such as the Bioenergy Career Map, which may be found 
at https://www.energy.gov/eere/bioenergy/bioenergy-career-map. DOE is 
seeking information from industry, academia, K-12 and postsecondary 
educators, career counselors, National Laboratories, Government 
agencies, and other stakeholders to aid in identifying existing 
bioenergy workforce-development (1) learning/skill development assets 
and (2) gaps that impede skill development and learning opportunities. 
This evidence-based workforce-development data will also assist in 
preparing the nation's current and future workforce for the rapidly and 
continually changing workforce demands to reskill and upskill in the 
bioenergy industry. The RFI is available

[[Page 55443]]

at: https://eere-exchange.energy.gov/; use the drop-down search fields 
or ``BioWD'' in the search field at the upper right of the screen.

Confidential Business Information

    Pursuant 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.
    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).

Signing Authority

    This document of the Department of Energy was signed on September 
2, 2020, by Michael Berube, Acting Director of the Bioenergy 
Technologies Office, Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy, 
pursuant to delegated authority from the Secretary of Energy. That 
document with the original signature and date is maintained by DOE. For 
administrative purposes only, and in compliance with requirements of 
the Office of the Federal Register, the undersigned DOE Federal 
Register Liaison Officer has been authorized to sign and submit the 
document in electronic format for publication, as an official document 
of the Department of Energy. This administrative process in no way 
alters the legal effect of this document upon publication in the 
Federal Register.

    Signed in Washington, DC, on September 2, 2020.
Treena V. Garrett,
Federal Register Liaison Officer, U.S. Department of Energy.
[FR Doc. 2020-19790 Filed 9-4-20; 8:45 am]
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