Federal Register / Vol. 76, No. 35 / Tuesday, February 22, 2011 / Notices 9765 

Measure: The average percentage gain 

on a teacher assessment after 

participation in the Presidential 

Academy. 

VII. Agency Contact 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Bonnie Carter, U.S. Department of 

Education, 400 Maryland Avenue, SW., 

room 4W107, Washington, DC 20202– 

5960. Telephone: (202) 401–3576 or by 

e-mail: academies@ed.gov. 

If you use a TDD, call the FRS, toll 

free, at 1–800–877–8339. 

VIII. Other Information 

Accessible Format: Individuals with 

disabilities can obtain this document 

and a copy of the application package in 

an accessible format (e.g., braille, large 

print, audiotape, or computer diskette) 

on request to the program contact 

person listed under FOR FURTHER

INFORMATION CONTACT in section VII of 

this notice. 

Electronic Access to This Document: 

You can view this document, as well as 

all other documents of this Department 

published in the Federal Register, in 

text or Adobe Portable Document 

Format (PDF) on the Internet at the 

following site: http://www.ed.gov/news/ 

fedregister. To use PDF you must have 

Adobe Acrobat Reader, which is 

available free at this site. 

Note: The official version of this document 

is the document published in the Federal 

Register. Free Internet access to the official 

edition of the Federal Register and the Code 

of Federal Regulations is available on GPO 

Access at: http://www.gpoaccess.gov/nara/ 

index.html. 

Dated: February 16, 2011. 

James H. Shelton III, 

Assistant Deputy Secretary for Innovation and 

Improvement. 

[FR Doc. 2011–3913 Filed 2–18–11; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4000–01–P 

DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY 

National Coal Council 

AGENCY: Department of Energy. 

ACTION: Notice of open meeting. 

SUMMARY: This notice announces a 

meeting of the National Coal Council 

(NCC). The Federal Advisory Committee 

Act (Pub. L. 92–463, 86 Stat. 770) 

requires that public notice of these 

meetings be announced in the Federal 

Register. 

DATES: Friday, March 18, 2011 9 a.m. to 

12 p.m. 

ADDRESSES: Westin Georgetown, 2350 M 

Street, NW., Washington, DC 20037. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Michael J. Ducker, U.S. Department of 

Energy; 4G–036/Forrestal Building, 

1000 Independence Avenue, SW., 

Washington, DC 20585–1290; 

Telephone: (202) 586–7810. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Purpose of Meeting: To conduct an 

open meeting of the NCC and to provide 

a presentation on the new study 

conducted by the Council on the 

deployment of carbon capture and 

storage technologies. 

Agenda: 

• Welcome and call to order by NCC 

Chair Joe Hopf. 

• Remarks by Secretary Steven Chu, 

Department of Energy. 

• Council Business: 

Æ Finance report by Committee 

Chairman Joe Hopf. 

• Presentation by Coal Policy 

Committee Chairman Frank Blake on 

the findings and recommendations in 

the new NCC Report. 

• Presentation by Mike Howard, 

President and CEO of Electric Power 

Research Institute (EPRI). 

• Presentation by Tom Grahame of 

the Department of Energy on the 

impacts of black carbon in the 

atmosphere. 

• Other Business. 

• Adjourn. 

Public Participation: The meeting is 

open to the public. If you would like to 

file a written statement with the 

Committee, you may do so either before 

or after the meeting. If you would like 

to make oral statements regarding any 

potential items on the agenda, you 

should contact Michael J. Ducker by 

telephone at (202) 586–7810 or 

Michael.Ducker@HQ.DOE.GOV (e-mail). 

You must make your request for an oral 

statement at least 5 business days before 

the meeting. Reasonable provision will 

be made to include the scheduled oral 

statements on the agenda. The 

Chairperson of the Committee will 

conduct the meeting to facilitate the 

orderly conduct of business. Public 

comment will follow the 10-minute 

rule. 

Minutes: The NCC will prepare 

meeting minutes within 45 days of the 

meeting. The minutes will be posted on 

the NCC Web site at http:// 

www.nationalcoalcouncil.org/. 

Issued at Washington, DC, on February 15, 

2011. 

LaTanya Butler, 

Acting Deputy Committee Management 

Officer. 

[FR Doc. 2011–3847 Filed 2–18–11; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 6450–01–P 

DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY 

Advanced Scientific Computing 

Advisory Committee 

AGENCY: Office of Science, Department 

of Energy. 

ACTION: Notice of open meeting. 

SUMMARY: This notice announces a 

meeting of the Advanced Scientific 

Computing Advisory Committee 

(ASCAC). The Federal Advisory 

Committee Act (Pub. L. 92–463, 86 Stat. 

770) requires that public notice of these 

meetings be announced in the Federal 

Register. 

DATES: Tuesday, March 22, 2011—9 

a.m.–5 p.m. and Wednesday, March 23, 

2011—9 a.m.–12 p.m. 

ADDRESSES: American Geophysical 

Union (AGU), 2000 Florida Avenue, 

NW., Washington, DC 20009–1277. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Melea Baker, Office of Advanced 

Scientific Computing Research, SC–21/ 

Germantown Building, U.S. Department 

of Energy, 1000 Independence Avenue, 

SW.; Washington, DC 20585–1290; 

Telephone (301) 903–7486. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Purpose of the Meeting: The purpose 

of this meeting is to provide advice on 

a continuing basis to the Department of 

Energy on scientific priorities within the 

field of advanced scientific computing 

research. 

Tentative Agenda Topics 

• Advanced Scientific Computing 

Research program updates. 

• ARRA update. 

• Technical talks on exascale relevant 

research. 

• ASCAC Committee of Visitors 

(COV) update and new business. 

• Public Comment (10-minute rule). 

Public Participation: The meeting is 

open to the public. A webcast of this 

meeting may be available. Please check 

the ASCAC Web site below for updates 

and information on how to view the 

meeting. If you would like to file a 

written statement with the Committee, 

you may do so either before or after the 

meeting. If you would like to make oral 

statements regarding any of the items on 

the agenda, you should contact Melea 

Baker at (301) 903–7486 or e-mail: 

Melea.Baker@science.doe.gov. You must 

make your request for an oral statement 

at least 5 business days prior to the 

meeting. Reasonable provision will be 

made to include the scheduled oral 

statements on the agenda. The 

Chairperson of the Committee will 

conduct the meeting to facilitate the 

orderly conduct of business. Public 

mstockstill on DSKH9S0YB1PROD with NOTICES

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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