Federal Register / Vol. 77, No. 58 / Monday, March 26, 2012 / Notices 17457 

used in the project are produced in the 

United States.’’ However, section 

1605(b)(2) allows the head of a Federal 

department or agency to issue a 

‘‘determination of nonavailability’’ if the 

iron, steel, or manufactured good is not 

produced or manufactured in the United 

States in sufficient and reasonably 

available quantities and of a satisfactory 

quality. Pursuant to section 1605(b)(2), 

and a delegation of authority by the 

Secretary of Commerce, the NIST 

Director has determined that the 

required inverters were not 

manufactured in the United States. 

In May 2010, NIST awarded a 

Recovery Act contract in the amount of 

$1,415,000.00 to Adon Construction for 

the construction of a 120kw 

photovoltaic solar array system to be 

built in eight 15kw sub-arrays at NIST’s 

WWVH radio station in Kauai, HI. The 

objective of the solar array project is to 

produce power for the radio station and 

feed electricity back to the local grid. By 

doing this, the NIST radio station will 

be able to cut its utility costs and show 

a cost savings for future years on 

electricity. 

The contract specifications required 

that all exterior photovoltaic equipment 

be in stainless steel or PVC enclosures 

that carried a minimum National 

Electrical Manufacturers Association 

(NEMA) 3R rating. An inverter is an 

essential piece of electrical equipment 

that converts DC electrical power to AC 

electrical power; without the inverters, 

the solar array could not be used for site 

operations. In July of 2010, the 

contractor proposed using three 5kw, 

208V AC, single phase inverters inside 

of NEMA 3R, 6060 aluminum 

enclosures for each 15kw sub-array. The 

contractor notified NIST that its 

research indicated there were no 

American-made products that met the 

project specifications. NIST completed a 

review of the contractor’s findings and 

concurred that neither the 5kw nor 

15kw inverters in stainless steel, PVC, 

or aluminum 6060 enclosures were 

produced or manufactured in the U.S. in 

sufficient and reasonably available 

quantities of a satisfactory quality in 

July 2010. NIST also determined that 

the aluminum enclosures were an 

acceptable alternative to the stainless 

steel or PVC materials originally 

specified because they would be able to 

withstand the rigors of outdoor use in a 

tropical climate. 

Based on NIST and the contractor’s 

review of the market place and various 

vendors’ product availability, NIST 

determined there were no inverters 

manufactured in the United States that 

met the contract specifications or NIST’s 

requirements. 

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

Dated: March 16, 2012. 

Willie E. May, 

Associate Director for Laboratory Programs. 

[FR Doc. 2012–7222 Filed 3–23–12; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3510–13–P 

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE 

National Institute of Standards and 

Technology 

Work Group on Alternative Test 

Methods for Commercial Measuring 

Devices 

AGENCY: National Institute of Standards 

and Technology, Commerce. 

ACTION: Notice. 

SUMMARY: The National Institute of 

Standards and Technology (NIST) is 

forming a Work Group (WG) to examine 

alternative methods for testing the 

accuracy of commercial measuring 

devices including, but not limited to 

retail motor-fuel dispensers. The WG 

will investigate the current methodology 

and standards (e.g., neck-type 

volumetric field standards and 

associated test procedures) widely used 

by weights and measures officials and 

service companies to test commercial 

measuring devices as well as proposed 

alternatives to ensure that the 

methodologies and standards facilitate 

measurements that are traceable to the 

International System of Units (SI). WG 

membership is open to any interested 

party. This notice also summarizes key 

issues to be considered by this WG. 

DATES: An initial WG meeting will be 

held on Tuesday, April 24, 2012, from 

10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Subsequent meeting 

dates will be determined based on the 

concurrence of the WG members. 

ADDRESSES: An initial meeting of the 

WG will be at NIST, 100 Bureau Drive, 

Gaithersburg, MD 20899. Subsequent 

locations for WG meetings may include 

NIST as well as sites suggested by WG 

members offering to host meetings. WG 

meetings will also be conducted via 

Web conferencing. Please note 

admittance instructions under the 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION section of 

this notice. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Ms. 

Carol Hockert, Chief, NIST, Office of 

Weights and Measures, 100 Bureau 

Drive, Stop 2600, Gaithersburg, MD 

20899–2600. You may also contact Ms. 

Hockert by telephone (301) 975–5507 or 

by email at Carol.Hockert@nist.gov. 

Please contact Ms. Hockert for 

information on upcoming meetings. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The 

formation of this WG and its associated 

meetings is intended to bring together 

government officials and representatives 

of business, industry, trade associations, 

and consumer organizations on the 

subject of standards and test procedures 

used in the testing of commercial 

measuring devices by regulatory 

officials and service companies. NIST 

participates to promote uniformity 

among the states in laws, regulations, 

methods, and testing equipment that 

comprises the regulatory control of 

commercial weighing and measuring 

devices and other trade and commerce 

issues. 

Included among the topics to be 

discussed by the WG for current and 

proposed device technologies used in 

testing commercial measuring devices 

are: metrology laboratory standards and 

test procedures; uncertainties; 

measurement traceability; tolerances 

and other technical requirements for 

commercial measuring devices; existing 

standards for testing equipment; field 

implementation; data analysis; field test 

procedures; field enforcement issues; 

training at all levels; and other relevant 

issues identified by the WG. WG 

recommendations may result in the 

revision of current standards or the 

development of new standards for 

testing equipment, including documents 

such as the NIST Handbook 105 Series 

for field standards; NIST Handbook 44, 

Specifications, Tolerances, and 

Technical Requirements for Weighing 

and Measuring Devices; and NIST 

Examination Procedure Outlines, as 

well as proposed changes to 

requirements and testing procedures for 

commercial measuring devices. 

All visitors to the NIST site are 

required to pre-register to be admitted. 

Anyone wishing to attend this meeting 

must register by close of business 

Tuesday, April 17, 2012, in order to 

attend. Please submit your full name, 

email address, and phone number to 

Ms. Hockert. Non-U.S. citizens must 

also submit their country of citizenship, 

title, and employer/sponsor. Ms. 

Hockert’s email address is carol.

hockert@nist.gov and her phone number 

is (301) 975–5507. 

Dated: March 16, 2012. 

Willie E. May, 

Associate Director for Laboratory Programs. 

[FR Doc. 2012–7224 Filed 3–23–12; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3510–13–P 


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