9766 Federal Register / Vol. 76, No. 35 / Tuesday, February 22, 2011 / Notices 

comment will follow the 10-minute 

rule. 

Minutes: The minutes of this meeting 

will be available for viewing on the U.S. 

Department of Energy’s Office of 

Advanced Scientific Computing Web 

site at: http://www.er.doe.gov/ascr/

ASCAC/ASCAC.html. 

Issued at Washington, DC on February 15, 

2011. 

LaTanya Butler, 

Acting Deputy Committee Management 

Officer. 

[FR Doc. 2011–3848 Filed 2–18–11; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 6450–01–P 

DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY 

Office of Energy Efficiency and 

Renewable Energy 

Nationwide Limited Public Interest 

Waiver 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 extension of limited 

waiver. 

SUMMARY: The U.S. Department of 

Energy (DOE) is hereby granting a sixmonth extension of the amended 

nationwide limited waiver of the Buy 

American requirements of section 1605 

of the Recovery Act under the authority 

of section 1605(b)(1) (amended public 

interest waiver), with respect to the 

following solar photo-voltaic (PV) 

equipment: (1) Domesticallymanufactured modules containing 

foreign-manufactured cells, (2) Foreignmanufactured modules, when 

completely comprised of domesticallymanufactured cells, and (3) Any 

ancillary items and equipment 

(including, but not limited to, charge 

controllers, combiners and disconnect 

boxes, breakers and fuses, racks, 

trackers, lugs, wires, cables and all 

otherwise incidental equipment with 

the exception of inverters and batteries) 

when utilized in a solar installation 

involving a U.S. manufactured PV 

module, or a module manufactured 

abroad but comprised exclusively of 

domestically-manufactured cells until 

August 6, 2011. This waiver expires 

August 6, 2011 (six months from the 

date of expiration of the original 

waiver). Recipients of EERE Recovery 

Act funds who have taken substantial 

steps to commit funds for the purchase 

of the items covered in this waiver by 

August 6, 2011 will not be impacted by 

the expiration of this waiver. 

DATES: Effective Date February 4, 2011. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Benjamin Goldstein, Recovery Act Buy 

American Coordinator, Weatherization 

and Intergovernmental Program, Office 

of Energy Efficiency and Renewable 

Energy (EERE), (202) 287–1553, 

buyamerican@ee.doe.gov, Department of 

Energy, 1000 Independence Avenue, 

SW., Mailstop EE–2K, Washington, DC 

20585. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Under the authority of the Recovery 

Act, section 1605(b)(1), the head of a 

Federal department or agency may issue 

a ‘‘determination of inapplicability’’ (a 

waiver of the Buy American provisions) 

if the application of section 1605 would 

be inconsistent with the public interest. 

On September 17, 2010, the Secretary of 

Energy re-delegated the authority to 

make all inapplicability determinations 

to the Assistant Secretary for Energy 

Efficiency and Renewable Energy, for 

EERE Recovery Act projects. 

Pursuant to this delegation, the 

Assistant Secretary has determined that 

application of section 1605 restrictions 

would be inconsistent with the public 

interest for incidental and/or ancillary 

solar Photovoltaic (PV) equipment, 

when this equipment is utilized in solar 

installations containing domestically 

manufactured PV cells or modules 

(panels). 

This extension of the amended public 

interest determination extends the 

amended waiver of the Buy American 

requirements in EERE-funded Recovery 

Act projects for the purchase of the 

following solar PV equipment: (1) 

Domestically-manufactured modules 

containing foreign-manufactured cells, 

(2) Foreign-manufactured modules, 

when completely comprised of 

domestically-manufactured cells, and 

(3) Any ancillary items and equipment 

(including, but not limited to, charge 

controllers, combiners and disconnect 

boxes, breakers and fuses, racks, 

trackers, lugs, wires, cables and all 

otherwise incidental equipment with 

the exception of inverters and batteries) 

when utilized in a solar installation 

involving a U.S. manufactured PV 

module, or a module manufactured 

abroad but comprised exclusively of 

domestically-manufactured cells. 

This waiver expires August 6, 2011 

(six months from the date of expiration 

of the original waiver). Recipients of 

EERE Recovery Act funds who have 

taken substantial steps to commit funds 

for the purchase of the items covered in 

this waiver by August 6, 2011 will not 

be impacted by the expiration of this 

waiver. 

Definitions—Solar cells are the basic 

building block of PV technologies. The 

cells are functional semiconductors, 

made by processing and treating 

crystalline silicon or other photosensitive materials to create a layered 

product that generates electricity by 

absorbing light photons. The individual 

cells are cut and/or assembled into 

larger groups known as panels or 

modules. These two terms are 

synonymous and used interchangeably 

in this memorandum. The panel is the 

end product, and consists of a series of 

solar cells, a backing surface, and a 

covering to protect the cells from 

weather and other types of damage. A 

solar array is created by installing 

multiple modules in the same location 

to increase the electrical generating 

capacity. Operational solar PV modules 

and arrays use cells to capture and 

transfer solar-generated electricity. 

The Buy American provisions contain 

no requirement with regard to the origin 

of components or subcomponents in 

manufactured goods used in a project, 

as long as the manufacturing occurs in 

the United States [2 CFR 

176.70(a)(2)(ii)]. However, determining 

where final manufacturing occurs in the 

context of the solar production chain is 

complicated. Under a plain reading of 

the Recovery Act Buy American 

provisions, only the PV modules would 

need to be manufactured in the United 

States, but the source of the component 

parts—including the high-value cells— 

would not be relevant to complying 

with the Buy American requirements. 

EERE and the National Renewable 

Energy Laboratory have conducted 

extensive research into the nature of the 

domestic solar manufacturing industry 

to determine the best way to apply the 

Buy American requirements to solar PV 

projects. EERE considered three basic 

options: (1) To follow a plain reading of 

the Buy American provisions and 

require that only the modules be 

produced in the United States, 

irrespective of the origin of the cells 

contained in the modules; (2) determine 

that the modules and cells are distinct 

manufactured goods and thus both must 

be produced in the United States; and 

(3) choose a more inclusive approach 

that allows a solar installation to 

comply if either the cells or the modules 

are manufactured in the United States. 

Of the options considered, only 

option (3) recognized EERE’s 

determination that the manufacture of 

PV cells and modules represent distinct 

instances of ‘‘substantial transformation’’ 

along the solar PV manufacturing chain, 

and that the public interest is best 

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Federal Register / Vol. 76, No. 35 / Tuesday, February 22, 2011 / Notices 9767 

served by allowing either instance of 

substantial transformation to qualify the 

final solar installation or array as 

compliant with the Buy American 

provisions. 

Conducting either of these discrete 

activities (production of the cells or the 

modules) in the United States creates 

roughly equal numbers of American 

jobs, and aligns squarely with purpose 

and the principles the Recovery Act Buy 

American provision by focusing on the 

highest-value and most labor-intensive 

processes along the solar PV 

manufacturing chain. 

The extension of the Solar Public 

Interest Waiver also demonstrates 

EERE’s commitment to the continued 

swift expenditure of Recovery Act 

funds, by permitting grantees to utilize 

a diverse range of existing 

American-manufactured solar 

technologies. This is a one-time 

extension encouraging grantees to 

complete their projects in an expedient 

manner; strengthening local clean 

energy infrastructure while leveraging 

Recovery Act dollars to support U.S. 

jobs along the solar manufacturing 

supply chain and in high-skill solar 

installation activities. 

For all the reasons outlined above, the 

Assistant Secretary of EERE has 

determined it is in the public interest to 

issue a one-time extension of the Solar 

Public Interest Waiver of the Recovery 

Act Buy American provisions, 

permitting EERE Recovery Act grantees 

to utilize solar PV installations where 

either the cell or the module is 

manufactured in the United States. 

In addition, this extended public 

interest determination waives the Buy 

American requirements for all ancillary 

items that are incidental in cost and 

technological significance, thus 

eliminating ambiguities concerning 

whether the incidental items are final 

manufactured goods or merely 

components of a larger solar module, 

installation or array. These items 

include, but are not limited to, charge 

controllers, combiners and disconnect 

boxes, breakers and fuses, racks, 

trackers, lugs, wires, and cables. 

Inverters and batteries remain subject to 

the Buy American provisions. This 

helps support the solar installation 

industry, because it removes the burden 

from businesses—especially small 

businesses—of verifying the origin of 

each of the many minor components of 

a solar installation or array. This also 

benefits grantees, businesses, American 

taxpayers and the Department of Energy 

by encouraging more competitive bids 

on solar projects. 

Issuance of this nationwide public 

interest waiver recognizes EERE’s 

commitment to expeditious costing of 

Recovery Act dollars by enabling 

recipients to easily ascertain whether a 

given solar installation complies with 

the Buy American provision. 

Simultaneously, this waiver advances 

the purpose and the principles of the 

Buy American provision by focusing on 

the highest-value and most laborintensive pieces of solar PV equipment. 

In light of the foregoing, and under 

the authority of section 1605(b)(1) of 

Public Law 111–5 and the Redelegation 

Order, dated September 17, 2010, with 

respect to Recovery Act projects funded 

by EERE, the Assistant Secretary on 

February 4, 2011 issued an extension of 

the amended ‘‘determination of 

inapplicability’’ (a waiver under the 

Recovery Act Buy American provisions) 

for the following items: (1) 

Domestically-manufactured modules 

containing foreign-manufactured cells, 

(2) Foreign-manufactured modules, 

when completely comprised of 

domestically-manufactured cells, and 

(3) Any ancillary items and equipment 

(including, but not limited to, charge 

controllers, combiners and disconnect 

boxes, breakers and fuses, racks, 

trackers, lugs, wires, cables and all 

otherwise incidental equipment with 

the exception of inverters and batteries) 

when utilized in a solar installation 

involving a U.S. manufactured PV 

module, or a module manufactured 

abroad but comprised exclusively of 

domestically-manufactured cells until 

August 6, 2011. 

This waiver expires August 6, 2011 

(six months from the date of expiration 

of the original waiver). Recipients of 

EERE Recovery Act funds who have 

taken substantial steps to commit funds 

for the purchase of the items covered in 

this waiver by August 6, 2011 will not 

be impacted by the expiration of this 

waiver. 

Furthermore, the Assistant Secretary 

reserves the right to revisit and amend 

this determination based on new 

information or new developments. 

Authority: Pub. L. 111–5, section 1605. 

Issued in Washington, DC, on February 4, 

2011. 

Cathy Zoi, 

Assistant Secretary, Energy Efficiency and 

Renewable Energy, U.S. Department of 

Energy. 

[FR Doc. 2011–3849 Filed 2–18–11; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 6450–01–P 

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. 

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 (1) two-stage, steam 

heated absorption chillers rated at 500– 

1,500 tons; (2) single wall evacuated 

tube collectors for solar thermal systems 

(when used in an educational context 

for the purposes of comparing relative 

efficiency of solar thermal technologies); 

(3) 2-ton adsorption chillers (for 

educational purposes, or where 

alternative technologies are not 

serviceable); (4) LED Lamp and 

controller for studio lights in a 

television broadcast studio (where a CRI 

(Color Rendition Index) sufficient to 

render accurate flesh tones and natural 

colors and a precise color tuning control 

to dial in exact color temperature for 

accurate colors under multiple lighting 

setups are required); (5) Global 

Positioning System (GPS) Time Source 

Modules (to serve as direct 

communication link between a county 

or city’s Traffic Management System 

(TMS) and the Caltrans Traffic Signal 

Management and Surveillance System 

(CTNET)); and (6) elongated wall-hung 

rear spud toilets (bowl and hardware) 

that will be used on eligible EERE 

Recovery Act-funded projects. 

DATES: Effective Date: January 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 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 

mstockstill on DSKH9S0YB1PROD with NOTICES