[Federal Register Volume 87, Number 180 (Monday, September 19, 2022)]
[Notices]
[Pages 57195-57197]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2022-20138]


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GENERAL SERVICES ADMINISTRATION

[Notice MVAC-2022-01; Docket No. 2022-0002; Sequence No. 23]


Notice of Request for Information on Photovoltaic Systems

AGENCY: Office of Acquisition Policy, General Services Administration 
(GSA).

ACTION: Notice; request for information (RFI).

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SUMMARY: The General Services Administration (GSA) is seeking 
information from industry on the availability of domestically 
manufactured solar photovoltaic (PV) panels and components and 
feasibility of requiring the use of such PV panels and components for 
future projects.

DATES: Interested parties should submit comments to the address shown 
below on or before November 18, 2022.

ADDRESSES: Comments to the RFI must be provided in writing. Interested 
parties are to submit their written comments electronically to https://www.regulations.gov. Submit comments via the Federal eRulemaking portal 
by searching for ``RFI Photovoltaic Systems''. Select the link 
``Comment Now'' that corresponds with the RFI and follow the 
instructions provided on the screen. Please include your name, company 
name (if any), and ``RFI Photovoltaic Systems'' on your attached 
document. If your comment cannot be submitted using https://www.regulations.gov, call or email the points of contact in the FOR 
FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT section of this document for alternate 
instructions.
    You are not required to answer all of the questions in the RFI, but 
the more information we receive, the better GSA's understanding of the 
domestically manufactured solar panel and/or components market.
    Comments received generally will be posted without change to 
https://www.regulations.gov, including any personal and/or business 
confidential information provided. To confirm receipt of your 
comment(s), please check https://www.regulations.gov approximately two-
to-three days after submission to verify posting.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Ms. Adina Torberntsson, Procurement 
Analyst, at [email protected], for

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clarification of content. For information pertaining to status or 
publication schedules, contact the Regulatory Secretariat at 202-501-
4755 or [email protected]. Please cite RFI Photovoltaic Systems.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Purpose

    To obtain relevant information from domestic commercial PV panel 
and system component manufacturers and resellers, PV panel purchasers 
and installers, and renewable electricity providers, including small 
businesses.
    The information received will help GSA develop a procurement 
strategy, to potentially include a procurement standard for use in 
future solicitations where the use of PV panels and components are 
required.
    GSA intends to use the information generated from this Request for 
Information (RFI) in support of the goals expressed in section 203 of 
Executive Order (E.O.) 14057, Catalyzing Clean Energy Industries and 
Jobs Through Federal Sustainability (December 8, 2021), as well as the 
White House Fact Sheet, titled President Biden Takes Bold Executive 
Action to Spur Domestic Clean Energy Manufacturing (June 6, 2022).
    GSA seeks to learn more from industry regarding the use of 
domestically manufactured PV panels and components in contract types 
including: Power Purchase Agreements (PPA), Energy Savings Performance 
Contracts (ESPC), Utility Energy Service Contracts (UESC), solar array 
development contracts, and other acquisition vehicles depending on 
future need. This RFI is also being issued in anticipation of future 
projects that may be funded by the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) (Pub. 
L. 117-169). GSA is particularly interested in the impacts of this 
initiative on underserved or disadvantaged communities.
    This RFI is for general fact-gathering purposes. Interested parties 
will not be reimbursed for any costs related to providing information 
in response to this RFI. The Government does not intend to award a 
contract on the basis of this RFI.

Requested Information From Industry

    In submitting your response, please number your answers with which 
question you are answering, for example: Requested Information Specific 
to Manufacturing 2(a)(i).
    For purposes of organizing the data received, please provide the 
following information in your response:
     What is your company or organization name, point of 
contact, telephone number, and email address?
     What is the nature of your company or organization?
    [cir] Are you a solar panel or component provider, manufacturer, 
re-seller, or retailer (for residential, commercial, or utility scale); 
developer, utility company, or other (specify)?
    [cir] Describe your business in a few sentences, to include how 
long your company or organization has provided these services.
     What is your company or organization's primary North 
American Industry Classification System (NAICS) code?
    [cir] The NAICS code for photovoltaic cell manufacturing is 334413, 
Semiconductor and Related Device Manufacturing. If you operate under a 
different NAICS code for other elements of this RFI please provide your 
primary NAICS code.
     With your primary NAICS code in mind, what is your 
company's size status, is your company a large or small business?
    [cir] As defined by the Small Business Administration, the size 
standard to qualify as a small business for NAICS code 334413 is fewer 
than 1,250 employees.
    [cir] What, if any, small business socio-economic categories apply 
to your business, such as Small Disadvantaged Business, Woman-Owned 
Small Business, Veteran-Owned Small Business, Service-Disabled Veteran-
Owned, or Historically Underutilized Business Zone?

Requested Information Specific to Manufacturing

    1. Is your company an established PV panel or component 
manufacturer (defined for the purposes of the RFI as the panel or 
component being in commercial production for 2 or more years)?
    2. Does your company or organization manufacture PV panels or 
system components for the arrays domestically?
    a. If yes, please provide a brief description to include the place 
of manufacture and where in the supply chain your product falls, i.e., 
do you manufacture a component or assemble the final panel system or 
components?
    i. What is your company's production capacity of domestically 
manufactured solar panels?
    ii. Are you anticipating an increase or decrease in production 
capacity in the next 10-year timeframe? Why or why not?
    b. From which countries do you or your suppliers source the 
majority of the raw materials for the PV panels or components?
    i. Please provide the countries of origin for each major component 
if purchased outside of the U.S.
    ii. Please describe current traceability tools and how effective 
they are.
    iii. Has your due diligence in monitoring your supply chain changed 
as a direct result of the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act (UFLPA)? 
Is implementation of the UFLPA a help or hindrance to domestic 
manufacturing?
    iv. Do you have capacity to trace and certify that your products 
meet the component test for manufactured goods of 55% called out in the 
Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IJA) and 55%, incrementally 
increasing to 75% over time, for federal procurements?
    v. With recent legislative changes, are there now more mechanisms 
to trace the country of origin for the components? Please describe.
    3. Has your company experienced availability, quality, workability, 
or durability challenges with PV panels and/or components?
    a. Have you seen any differences in the availability, quality, 
workability, or durability between PV panels manufactured foreignly or 
domestically?
    b. Are there good examples of quality assurance and quality control 
procedures/programs for PV panels or components that you trust?
    4. If your company has been in panel/component commercial 
production for fewer than two years, please disclose which part of the 
domestic PV supply chain your company will support.
    5. It is our understanding that there are primarily two types of 
panels commercially available: crystalline silicon and tellurium. Is 
your firm developing or close to commercializing new panel technology 
outside of these two types?
    6. Please provide as many details as you can in response to the 
questions listed below:
    a. What is the rated wattage of your PV panels?
    b. What is the efficiency rating of your PV panels?
    c. What is the weight of your PV panels?
    d. What type of warranty do you offer for your PV panels?
    e. What is the product warranty period for your PV panels?
    f. What is the power warranty after 25 years of operation?
    g. Do you have embodied carbon product declarations (EPDs) for the 
panels that you produce or sell? If yes, how is this calculated and are 
shipping logistics included?
    h. Do you perceive a difference in efficiency expectations between

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residential, commercial, and utility-scale PV panels, and if yes what 
is the difference?
    7. What steps would be needed to increase circularity (or 
recyclability) in the PV manufacturing sector?
    a. What are roadblocks to circularity/recyclability in the PV 
industry and are those barriers alleviated with federal subsidies?
    b. Describe your recycling process for PV panels or its components 
(if any). What technology is needed in order to improve on recycling?

Requested Information Specific to Installers

    8. Is your company or organization taking action to source 
domestically manufactured PV panels and/or components?
    a. If yes, what actions are you taking and why are you taking those 
actions?
    9. Other than the price, are there other obstacles to sourcing 
domestically made PV panels and/or components?
    a. Are there obstacles to identifying skilled labor to complete the 
installations?
    10. Has your company or organization experienced availability, 
quality, workability, or durability challenges with PV panels and/or 
components?
    a. Have you seen any differences between foreign and domestic 
products for PV panels and system components?

Requested Information Specific to Developers

    11. If you are a developer who anticipates construction of new 
solar generation facilities in the next five years, what barriers can 
you identify to using domestically manufactured PV panels and/or 
components?
    a. Are there state laws or regulations preventing energy providers 
from requiring domestically made PV panels and components?
    12. What opportunities, if present, would encourage use of 
domestically manufactured PV panels and/or components for such 
generation facilities?
    a. Is your company aware of any disruptive technologies that could 
render current PV panels and/or components, or system designs outdated 
or incompatible with existing systems?

Requested Information on Market Availability

    13. What are the technical, economic, logistical, or regulatory 
obstacles that exist to domestically manufacturing PV panels or 
purchasing renewable energy as a commodity? Does the IRA resolve any of 
these obstacles for your company?
    14. How will the IRA and potentially more federal opportunities for 
use of domestically manufactured PV panels or components help you 
expand or increase your rate of growth? Are there other initiatives or 
factors that impede or spur growth in this area? How will the IRA 
impact the purchase of power versus the PV systems themselves?
    15. If you are not a manufacturer, to what extent do you acquire PV 
panels systems or components from domestic sources? Do you expect your 
purchasing behavior will change as a result of federal subsidies?

Requested Information on Acquisition Practices

    16. What would be the likely impacts of the Government requiring in 
its procurements that solar energy under such contracts be generated 
using domestically manufactured PV panels or components?
    a. What are the risks/downsides?
    b. What are the opportunities/upsides?
    c. If you are a developer, would such a requirement change your 
willingness to participate in future federal opportunities?
    17. Other than establishing a requirement, what steps could the 
Government take to use federal acquisition to leverage domestic PV 
panel or component manufacturing?
    18. If the Government were to pursue developing a procurement 
standard for domestically manufactured PV panels or components, what 
key elements should be contained in that standard to encourage domestic 
manufacturing?
    19. What components in PV panels would be difficult to source 
domestically?
    a. Do different components in PV panels need different timeframes 
for being domestically sourced without difficulty?
    20. There is an Electronic Product Environmental Assessment Tool 
(EPEAT) ecolabel for PV panels and inverters. Please share your 
company's plan/timeline to get your PV panels EPEAT registered.
    a. What percentage of the components of your EPEAT registered solar 
panels do you anticipate would be domestically sourced?
    b. How does your company ensure that your solar supply chain does 
not utilize forced labor? Will your company's supply chain be impacted 
by the recently passed Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act?
    c. What steps can the Government take to further protect your 
supply chain from forced labor concerns?
    d. If the EPEAT criteria for PV panels and/or components were 
updated to address forced labor within the supply chain, what approach 
would you recommend be taken in the new criteria?
    21. If there is anything else that you want the Government to 
consider in encouraging domestic manufacturing of PV panels and 
components, please address.

Jeffrey A. Koses,
Senior Procurement Executive, Office of Acquisition Policy, Office of 
Government-wide Policy, General Services Administration.
[FR Doc. 2022-20138 Filed 9-16-22; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6820-61-P