Federal Register / Vol. 79, No. 202 / Monday, October 20, 2014 / Notices 62609 

• ‘‘Qualified hydroelectric facility’’ is 

redefined to recognize both 

conventional and new innovative 

technologies and that construction 

should not require any permanent 

enlargement of impoundment or 

diversion structure when installed. 

• A definition for ‘‘qualified kilowatthours’’ is added. 

• The definition of ‘‘sale’’ of 

electricity is amended to specify that 

not-for-profit electric cooperatives and 

municipal utilities are considered 

unrelated to their members for purposes 

of hydroelectric production incentive 

payments. 

• Definitions in the guidance are 

appealable. 

• The net electric energy generated 

and sold must either be metered or must 

be measured through an alternative 

means confirmed by a third party. 

• A definition for ‘‘first eligible for 

payment’’ is added and defined as the 

first Federal fiscal year that a qualified 

hydroelectric facility operates to sell 

electric energy and this change is 

repeated in other relevant portions of 

the guidance. 

After receiving public comment 

asking for clarification about the date 

that hydropower facility owners or 

operators are first eligible for incentive 

payments, DOE reexamined the July 

draft guidance proposal that the 10-year 

eligibility period was to begin the first 

fiscal year in which the application for 

payment is made. The July draft 

guidance defined the period of 

eligibility to be ‘‘the fiscal year in which 

application for payment for electricity 

generated by the facility is first made 

and the facility is determined by DOE to 

be eligible for and receives an incentive 

payment.’’ See http://energy.gov/eere/

water/water-power-program. DOE 

recognizes that the purpose of the 

section 242 program is to incentivize 

new hydropower development and 

production. The statute envisioned 10 

years of consecutive payments to 

stimulate such investment. Moreover, 

the incentive period mentioned in 

section 242(a) refers to the period of 10 

fiscal years that begins with the fiscal 

year in which the electric energy 

generated from the facility is first 

eligible for such payments. 

Hydroelectric facilities are first eligible 

for such payments the date these 

facilities meet the ‘‘qualified 

hydroelectric facility’’ definition in 

section 242(b)(1), regardless of whether 

funds were appropriated in a given 

fiscal year. Congress only authorized 

appropriations for fiscal years 2006 

through 2015, though it did not actually 

provide funding prior to fiscal year 

2014, and limited the pool of qualified 

hydroelectric facilities to those that 

begin operation between fiscal years 

2006 through 2015. DOE is now 

proposing that the 10-year period of 

eligibility begins the date a qualified 

hydroelectric facility begins operation 

and generates energy for sale (must be 

between fiscal year 2006 and fiscal year 

2015) and ends 10 fiscal years from that 

date. (See 42 U.S.C. 15881(a)–(d)) DOE 

is accepting comments on this and all 

other aspects of the draft guidance. 

Issued in Washington, DC, on October 14, 

2014. 

David Danielson, 

Assistant Secretary, Energy Efficiency and 

Renewable Energy. 

[FR Doc. 2014–24919 Filed 10–17–14; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 6450–01–P 

DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY 

Office of Energy Efficiency and 

Renewable Energy 

Request for Information; Assisting 

Federal Facilities With Energy 

Conservation Technologies, Fiscal 

Year 2015 

AGENCY: Office of Energy Efficiency and 

Renewable Energy, Department of 

Energy (DOE). 

ACTION: Request for Information (RFI) 

and public comment. 

SUMMARY: The Department of Energy 

(DOE) today invites public comment on 

its Request for Information (RFI) number 

DE–FOA–0001203 regarding ‘‘Assisting 

Federal Facilities with Energy 

Conservation Technologies Fiscal Year 

2015.’’ The RFI document is posted at 

https://eere-exchange.energy.gov/. 

EERE intends to issue, on behalf of 

the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) 

Federal Energy Management Program 

(FEMP), a Funding Opportunity 

Announcement (FOA) entitled 

‘‘Assisting Federal Facilities with 

Energy Conservation Technologies 

Fiscal Year 2015 (AFFECT 2015).’’ This 

RFI seeks input from interested parties 

and stakeholders regarding the subject 

of the anticipated FOA and related 

details. If the FOA is issued, it will 

likely provide grants to Federal agencies 

for renewable energy projects that are 

incorporated into a privately financed 

performance contract, such as an Energy 

Savings Performance Contract or Utility 

Energy Service Contract, or as part of a 

renewable energy Power Purchase 

Agreement (PPA). Applications for 

renewable energy projects that are 

financed through appropriations will 

also be considered. If the FOA is issued, 

it will be released at some point in 

Fiscal Year 2015, which began October 

1, 2014 and ends September 30, 2015. 

This is solely a Request for 

Information and not a Funding 

Opportunity Announcement (FOA). 

EERE is not accepting applications. 

DATES: Responses to the RFI must be 

received by November 13, 2014. 

ADDRESSES: The complete RFI document 

is located at https://eereexchange.energy.gov/. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Responses to the RFI should be sent via 

email or email attachment to 

rfi.affect2015@hq.doe.gov. Further 

instruction can be found in the RFI 

document posted on EERE Exchange. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: This RFI is 

not a Funding Opportunity 

Announcement (FOA); therefore, EERE 

is not accepting applications at this 

time. EERE may issue a FOA in the 

future based on or related to the content 

and responses to this RFI; however, 

EERE may also elect not to issue a FOA. 

There is no guarantee that a FOA will 

be issued as a result of this RFI. 

Responding to this RFI does not provide 

any advantage or disadvantage to 

potential applicants if EERE chooses to 

issue a FOA regarding the subject 

matter. Final details, including the 

anticipated award size, quantity, and 

timing of EERE funded awards, will be 

subject to Congressional appropriations 

and direction. 

Any information obtained as a result 

of this RFI is intended to be used by the 

Government on a non-attribution basis 

for planning and strategy development; 

this RFI does not constitute a formal 

solicitation for proposals or abstracts. 

Your response to this notice will be 

treated as information only. EERE will 

review and consider all responses in its 

formulation of program strategies for the 

identified materials of interest that are 

the subject of this request. EERE will not 

provide reimbursement for costs 

incurred in responding to this RFI. 

Respondents are advised that EERE is 

under no obligation to acknowledge 

receipt of the information received or 

provide feedback to respondents with 

respect to any information submitted 

under this RFI. Responses to this RFI do 

not bind EERE to any further actions 

related to this topic. 

Issued on October 9, 2014. 

Timothy D. Unruh, 

Director, Federal Energy Management 

Program, Energy Efficiency and Renewable 

Energy. 

[FR Doc. 2014–24867 Filed 10–17–14; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 6450–01–P 


tkelley on DSK3SPTVN1PROD with NOTICES