[Federal Register: February 4, 2010 (Volume 75, Number 23)]
[Notices]               
[Page 5783-5784]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr04fe10-51]                         

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DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY

Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy

 
Request for Information (RFI)

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

ACTION: Request for information (RFI).

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SUMMARY: The Department of Energy (DOE) is requesting information from 
stakeholders on questions pertaining to Section 1605--the Buy American 
provisions--of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (``Recovery 
Act'') of 2009, Public Law 111-5. DOE is seeking information organized 
into two distinct parts. Part 1 requests technical information from 
stakeholders seeking to ascertain the availability of manufactured 
goods produced in the United States that are needed to carry out 
projects funded by the Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable 
Energy. Part 2 requests information on questions pertaining to the 
application and implementation (programmatic questions) of the Buy 
American provisions in Recovery Act projects funded by the Office of 
Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy.

DATES: Written comments and information are requested on or before 
11:59 pm Eastern Time on Thursday, February 18, 2010.

ADDRESSES: Interested persons may submit information by any of the 
following methods:
     E-mail (preferred method): buyamerican@ee.doe.gov. Include 
``Response to Buy American RFI'' in the subject line of the message.
     Mail: Mr. Benjamin Goldstein, U.S. Department of Energy, 
Office of Weatherization and Intergovernmental Programs, Mailstop EE-
2K, 1000 Independence Avenue, SW., Washington, DC 20585-0121. Please 
submit one signed paper original.
     Hand Delivery/Courier: Mr. Benjamin Goldstein, U.S. 
Department of Energy, Office of Weatherization and Intergovernmental 
Programs, Mailstop EE-2K, 1000 Independence Avenue, SW., Washington, DC 
20585-0121. Please submit one signed paper original.
     Instructions: All submissions received must include the 
agency name (DOE) and identify this RFI.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Direct requests for additional 
information to Mr. Benjamin Goldstein, U.S. Department of Energy, 
Office of Weatherization and Intergovernmental Programs, Mailstop EE-
2K, 1000 Independence Avenue, SW., Washington, DC 20585-0121. E-mail: 
buyamerican@ee.doe.gov.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:  The U.S. Department of Energy's Office of 
Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE) received $16.8 billion in 
Recovery Act appropriations for EERE's programs and initiatives (for 
more information, please visit http://www1.eere.energy.gov/recovery/). 
EERE is committed to achieving the goals of the Recovery Act--
stimulating the economy and creating or retaining jobs--while 
simultaneously advancing the EERE mission of strengthening the United 
States' energy security, environmental quality, and economic vitality. 
With these objectives in mind, EERE is working to ensure that Recovery 
Act funds are deployed swiftly and effectively by recipients of 
financial assistance (``grantees'').
    Some grantees have encountered difficulties in procuring certain 
manufactured goods in compliance with the Buy American provisions. 
Under the Recovery Act, DOE can make an exception to the Buy American 
provisions (a ``waiver''), based on the criteria outlined in Section 
1605(b)(2) of the Recovery Act and in 2 CFR 176.80(a)(1). One such 
criteria is where manufactured goods are not produced in the United 
States in sufficient and reasonable quantities and of a satisfactory 
quality (``nonavailability'').
    EERE may consider issuing individual or categorical waivers if 
there are items that qualify for a determination of nonavailability. 
However, EERE wishes to ensure that any such determinations are based 
on a complete record obtained in a thorough, transparent and expedited 
manner. Toward this end, EERE is requesting grantees and other Recovery 
Act stakeholders to use Part 1 of this RFI to identify and provide 
technical specifications for products that may be potential candidates 
for waivers of Buy American provisions in EERE-funded projects based on 
the domestic nonavailability criteria.
    The products and technical specifications submitted in response to 
Part 1 of this RFI will be catalogued and disseminated to the domestic 
manufacturing community in order to ascertain the manufacturing 
capacity for these products; all as part of the EERE due diligence 
process before considering issuing any waivers based on nonavailability 
criteria. EERE will then make the results of our determinations 
available to grantees and the general public through the Federal 
Register, the EERE Web site, and additional channels as necessary.
    EERE is not at this time specifically requesting information, 
inquiries or expressions of interest from the manufacturing community. 
EERE will be executing a separate process to engage the manufacturing 
community around the products identified in Part 1 of this RFI.
    Additionally, the Buy American provisions found in Section 1605 of 
the Recovery Act have generated numerous questions pertaining to their 
application and implementation (programmatic questions) in projects 
around the country. EERE has provided grantees with a number of avenues 
to seek additional information about the Buy American provisions, and 
has a Web site that provides responses to some of the most common 
questions: http://www1.eere.energy.gov/recovery/buy_american_
provision.html.
    To further assist grantees in understanding and implementing the 
Buy American provisions, EERE will use responses to Part 2 of this RFI 
to inform the content of forthcoming Buy American-specific guidance to 
be issued by EERE and available on the EERE Buy American Web site.
    EERE strongly encourages responses from grantees and other Recovery 
Act stakeholders. These include, but are not limited to: Recipients of 
EERE Recovery Act financial assistance, state and local officials, 
contractors, and other interested parties.

Request for Information (RFI) Submission Guidelines

    Responses to this RFI must be submitted or postmarked no later than 
11:59 p.m. Eastern Time on February 18, 2010.
    E-mail responses must be provided as a Microsoft Word (.doc or 
.docx), or compatible, attachment to the email responding to either 
Part 1 or Part 2. Responses to both Part 1 and Part 2 must be submitted 
as two separate Microsoft Word documents (see below).
    Respondents are requested to provide the following information at 
the start of their response to this RFI:
     Associated government/company/institution name (if 
applicable).
     Contact information to allow for follow-up questions as 
necessary.
    This RFI is seeking responses organized into two distinct Parts:

[[Page 5784]]

Part 1

    EERE is seeking information on specific iron, steel and 
manufactured goods that stakeholders have found difficult to procure 
from domestic manufacturers in compliance with the Recovery Act Buy 
American provisions. EERE is requesting information on products that 
are not produced or manufactured in the United States in sufficient and 
reasonably available commercial quantities of a satisfactory quality in 
the time frame required. The type of information EERE is seeking is 
outlined below. EERE requests that stakeholders provide sufficient 
information to describe the technical specifications of the 
manufactured goods.
    Submission format: Please provide the following information to the 
absolute best of your abilities. A small photo should be included 
(pasted) at the bottom of the Part 1 document if one is available. 
Please use as much space as necessary to adequately communicate the 
technical specifications for the particular manufactured good in 
question. If you are submitting information for multiple manufactured 
goods, please fill out one template for each, and begin each additional 
submission on a fresh page in the document.
    1. Item description (1-2 sentences):
    2. Application: (how and where the item is used).
    3. Item class: (mechanical, electrical, electro-mechanical, 
electronic, etc.).
    4. Item materials:
    5. Item size:
    6. Likely manufacturing processes:
    7. Is this a Commercially Available Off the Shelf (COTS) item, or a 
custom component?
    8. Is a full set of technical specifications or data available for 
this item? If so, how can these be accessed?
    9. Noteworthy performance requirements:
    10. Other technical info, including manufacturing tolerances or 
testing requirements, if relevant:
    11. DOE Program Grant with which this item is affiliated--please be 
as specific as possible.
    12. What are the current major procurement issues being 
encountered? (e.g., locating a U.S. supplier, cost, quality, delivery 
time, etc.).
    13. Anticipated procurement numbers, in terms of item quantity and/
or $ amount:
    14. Potential future or related procurement info: (caveat any 
predictive info as not being guaranteed).
    15. Other relevant business info: (anything else worth noting about 
the item or opportunity not addressed elsewhere on this form).
    16. Paste small digital photo below if one is available:

Part 2

    DOE is interested in identifying issues related to the Buy American 
provisions that may not be well understood by grantees. DOE requests 
information as to the areas of the Buy American provisions for which 
grantees have questions. It is not the intent of this request to 
provide responses to the questions submitted. DOE intends only to rely 
on the questions submitted for the purpose of potentially developing 
future guidance, should such guidance be necessary.
    EERE is seeking information on programmatic questions relating to 
the applicability and/or implementation of the Buy American provisions 
of the Recovery Act in general, in specific projects, and/or in 
relation to individual technologies that may be deployed by recipients 
of financial assistance under EERE Recovery Act-funded programs. 
(Examples of programmatic questions might include: What is the 
definition of a ``manufactured good?'' Are solar panels installed on 
public buildings subject to the Buy American provisions? Do goods 
covered by NAFTA and produced in a NAFTA country satisfy the Buy 
American requirements? If Recovery Act funds are leveraged alongside 
private or philanthropic capital to increase the size or scope of a 
public project, do the Buy American provisions apply to the entire 
project or just the activities funded by Recovery Act dollars?) The 
format by which to submit programmatic questions is outlined in the 
paragraph below.
    Submission Format: Please articulate, in as clear and concise 
language as possible, the exact question(s) you have regarding the 
applicability and implementation of the Recovery Act Buy American 
provisions under programs of the DOE EERE office. If your question 
relates to a specific project with unique circumstances please provide 
the relevant details. Multiple questions may be submitted, separated as 
individual paragraphs in the Word document. Please limit submissions to 
two (2) pages.
    A response to this RFI will not be viewed as a binding commitment 
to develop or pursue the ideas discussed. DOE will not pay for 
information provided under this RFI. This RFI is not accepting 
applications for financial assistance or financial incentives. DOE has 
no obligation to respond to those who submit comments or questions, 
and/or give any feedback on any decision made based on the comments 
received. DOE thanks you for your assistance and comments in helping to 
achieve the goals of the Recovery Act.

    Issued in Washington, DC, on January 29, 2010.
Cathy Zoi,
Assistant Secretary, Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy.
[FR Doc. 2010-2378 Filed 2-3-10; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6450-01-P