13514 Federal Register / Vol. 66, No. 44 / Tuesday, March 6, 2001 / Notices

go live with the information collection

early enough for states to apply for

funding and the awarding of funds to

states by July 1, 2001, the Department is

requesting emergency approval.

Frequency: Annually

Affected Public: State, Local, or Tribal

Gov’t, SEAs or LEAs

Reporting and Recordkeeping Hour

Burden

Responses: 56.

Burden Hours: 112.

Requests for copies of the proposed

information collection request should be

addressed to Vivian Reese, Department

of Education, 400 Maryland Avenue,

SW., Room 4050, Regional Office

Building 3, Washington, DC 20202–

4651, or should be electronically mailed

to the internet address

OCIO_IMG_Issues@ed.gov, or should be

faxed to 202–708–9346.

Comments regarding burden and/or

the collection activity requirements,

contact Joseph Schubart at (202) 708–

9266 or his internet address

Joe_Schubart@ed.gov. Individuals who

use a telecommunications device for the

deaf (TDD) may call the Federal

Information Relay Service (FIRS) at

1–800–877–8339.

[FR Doc. 01–5430 Filed 3–5–01; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 4000–01–P

DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY

National Energy Technology

Laboratory

Notice of Intent To Issue a Financial

Assistance Solicitation (PS)

AGENCY: National Energy Technology

Laboratory (NETL), Department of

Energy (DOE).

ACTION: Notice of Intent to Issue a

Financial Assistance Solicitation (PS).

SUMMARY: Notice is hereby given of the

intent to issue Financial Assistance

Solicitation No. DE–PS26–01NT40868

entitled ‘‘Gas Storage Program

Solicitation.’’ The general goal of this

research and development effort is to

support further development of the

innovative gas storage concepts that are

required to meet the needs of the natural

gas industry and end-use customers of

the U.S. through the year 2015. The Gas

Storage Program’s ‘‘Advanced Storage

Concepts (ASC)’’ projects have been

exploring alternatives to service the

need for new storage development and

expansion in close proximity to areas of

growing residential natural gas use and

existing and planned industrial and

power generation facilities without

conventional storage options.

DATES: The solicitation will be available

on the DOE/NETL’s Internet address at

http://www.netl.doe.gov/business on or

about March 16, 2001. Based on the

information contained herein,

prospective Applicants are encouraged

to begin defining their requirements and

potential teaming arrangements prior to

release of the solicitation.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Kelly A. McDonald, Contract Specialist,

MS I07, U.S. Department of Energy,

National Energy Technology Laboratory,

3610 Collins Ferry Road, P.O. Box 880,

Morgantown, WV 26507–0880, E-mail

Address: kelly.mcdonald@netl.doe.gov,

Telephone Number: (304) 285–4113.

SUPPLEMENTAL INFORMATION: It is

anticipated that this action will consist

of a single solicitation with three (3)

multiple needs areas that specifically

address: (1) Proof-of-concept studies or

demonstrations aimed at establishing

the potential for full-scale field

deployment and commercialization of

previously developed technologies such

as Lined Rock Cavern, RefrigeratedMined Rock Cavern, Gas Storage as

Hydrates, or Gas Storage in Basalt (a

CD–ROM publication titled ‘‘Advanced

Gas Storage Concepts: Technologies for

the Future,’’ which contains the final

reports of the Lined Rock Cavern,

Refrigerated-Mined Rock Cavern, and

Gas Storage as Hydrates concepts, is

available through the CD–ROM

Ordering System at the NETL website

http://www.netl.doe.gov/publications);

(2) development of new ideas for

innovative storage alternatives; or (3)

development of technological

innovations in salt brine disposal to

overcome the dominant barrier to

developing salt cavern storage in areas

remote to ocean disposal. Proposed

approaches are anticipated that will

include teaming arrangements and can

encompass any combination of theory,

laboratory validation of concepts, field

validation of concepts, proof-of-concept

demonstration, or commercial

technology demonstration. The overall

goal of this solicitation shall be to work

toward a demonstration of the storage

concept at a commercially scalable size.

It is anticipated that the work performed

under this action will consist of three

(3) phases similar to the following:

Phase I—Concept Definition and

Research, Development and Testing

(RD&T) Planning;

Phase II—Research, Development and

Testing; and,

Phase III—Preliminary Engineering

Design of the Storage Technology.

The maximum period of performance

for all three (3) phases is estimated at

forty-eight (48) months. The goal of this

procurement is to encourage private

sector firms to proceed with detailed

engineering design and obtain private

sector funding for the construction and

operation of an advanced natural gas

storage technology. It is recognized that

each Applicant may propose varying

scopes of effort for one or more of the

three (3) phases, and consequently, an

Applicant is not required to perform all

Phase I activities if significant work on

Phase I type activities has previously

been completed. If the Applicant

proposes to initially proceed to Phase II

or III efforts, information must be

included in their application which

demonstrates the merit of the previous

research and reference to the results. For

successful Applicants proposing to

Phase II or III, the cost of work

performed by the Recipient to satisfy the

Phase I or II requirements prior to the

execution of the resulting agreement

will not be considered when calculating

cost-share. Due to the nature and

objective of this solicitation, it is

anticipated that a mixture of proposals

will be accepted with staggered

beginning dates, and it is therefore

anticipated that any Applicant selected

for award shall proceed on it’s own

schedule, independent of any other

application. The schedule will be based

on the best estimate of the time it will

take the team to complete the three (3)-

phase effort, address the objective of the

advanced natural gas storage program,

and meet the government’s target date

for completion of the Preliminary

Engineering Design.

DOE anticipates multiple cooperative

agreement awards under each area of

interest resulting from this solicitation,

and no fee or profit will be paid to a

Recipient or Subrecipient under the

awards. This particular program is

covered by section 3001 and 3002 of the

Energy Policy Act (EPAct), 42 U.S.C.

13542 for financial assistance awards.

EPAct 3002 requires a cost-share

commitment of at least twenty (20)

percent from non-Federal sources for

research and development projects and

at least fifty (50) percent for

demonstration and commercial projects.

Depending on the phase and maturation

stage of the agreement, cost-share

expectations will range from 20 to 50

percent. The particular program is also

covered by section 2306 of EPAct, 42

U.S.C. 13525 for financial assistance

awards. In order for a company to be

eligible for an award under this

solicitation, the Applicant must be a

United States-owned company. If the

Applicant is not a United States-owned

company, it must be incorporated or

organized in a foreign country that

Federal Register / Vol. 66, No. 44 / Tuesday, March 6, 2001 / Notices 13515

affords treatment to United Statesowned companies that is comparable to

treatment the United States affords

foreign-owned companies. This

eligibility requirement also applies to all

companies participating in any joint

venture, ‘‘team’’ arrangement, or as a

major subcontractor. The solicitation

will contain as part of the application

package the applicable EPAct

representation form(s). At current

planning levels, and subject to the

availability of funds, DOE expects to

provide up to approximately $4,000,000

to support work under this solicitation.

Applications which include

performance of Federal agencies and

agents (i.e. Management and Operations

(M&O) contractors and/or National

Laboratories) as a subcontractor will be

acceptable under this solicitation if the

proposed use of any such entities is

specifically authorized by the executive

Federal agency managing the M&O or

National Laboratory, and the work is not

otherwise available from the private

sector. Such work, if approved, would

be accomplished through a direct

transfer of funding from the NETL to the

M&O contractor and/or National

Laboratory. Even though participation of

an M&O and/or National Laboratory

may be appropriate, their participation

cannot exceed fifty (50) percent of the

Applicant’s total estimated project cost.

Telephone requests, written requests,

E-mail requests, or facsimile requests for

a copy of the solicitation package will

not be accepted and/or honored.

Applications must be prepared and

submitted in accordance with the

instructions and forms contained in the

solicitation. The actual solicitation

document will allow for requests for

explanation and/or interpretation.

Issued in Morgantown, WV, on February

20, 2001.

Randolph L. Kesling,

Director, Acquisition and Assistance Division.

[FR Doc. 01–5433 Filed 3–5–01; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 6450–01–P

DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY

Energy Information Administration

Agency Information Collection

Activities: Proposed Collection;

Comment Request

AGENCY: Energy Information

Administration (EIA), Department of

Energy (DOE).

ACTION: Agency information collection

activities: proposed collection; comment

request.

SUMMARY: The EIA is soliciting

comments on the proposed three-year

extension to the Form EIA–63A,

‘‘Annual Solar Thermal Collector

Manufacturers Survey,’’ and EIA–63 B,

‘‘Annual Photovoltaic Module/Cell

Manufacturers Survey.’’

DATES: Comments must be filed on or

before May 7, 2001. If you anticipate

difficulty in submitting comments

within that period, contact the person

listed below as soon as possible.

ADDRESSES: Send comments to James

Holihan, Energy Information

Administration, EIA–52, Renewable

Energy Branch, Forrestal Building, U.S.

Department of Energy, Washington, DC

20585–0650, telephone (202) 287–1735;

e-mail jholihan@eia.doe.gov; FAX (202)

287–1946. Alternatively, Fred Mayes

may be contacted by telephone at (202)

287–1750; FAX at (202) 287–1946, or email at fred.mayes@eia.doe.gov.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Requests for additional information or

copies of any forms and instructions

should be directed to James Holihan at

the address listed above.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. Background

II. Current Actions

III. Request for Comments

I. Background

The Federal Energy Administration

Act of 1974 (Pub. L. No. 93–275, 15

U.S.C. 761 et seq.) and the DOE

Organization Act (Pub. L. No. 95–91, 42

U.S.C. 7101 et seq.) require the EIA to

carry out a centralized, comprehensive,

and unified energy information

program. This program collects,

evaluates, assembles, analyzes, and

disseminates information on energy

resource reserves, production, demand,

technology, and related economic and

statistical information. This information

is used to assess the adequacy of energy

resources to meet near and longer term

domestic demands.

The EIA, as part of its effort to comply

with the Paperwork Reduction Act of

1995 (Pub. L. 104–13, 44 U.S.C. Chapter

35), provides the general public and

other Federal agencies with

opportunities to comment on collections

of energy information conducted by or

in conjunction with the EIA. Any

comments received help the EIA to

prepare data requests that maximize the

utility of the information collected, and

to assess the impact of collection

requirements on the public. Also, the

EIA will later seek approval by the

Office of Management and Budget

(OMB) of the collections under section

3507(a) of the Paperwork Reduction Act

of 1995.

The forms currently are used to gather

information on the supply and

distribution of solar thermal collectors,

photovoltaic cells, and photovoltaic

modules. Specifically, the forms collect

information on manufacturing, imports,

exports, and shipments. The EIA has

been collecting this information

annually and proposes to continue the

surveys. The data collected will be

published in the Renewable Energy

Annual and will also be available

through EIA’s Internet site at http://

www.eia.doe.gov/fuelrenewable.html.

II. Current Actions

The EIA will request a three-year

extension through August 31, 2004 to

continue using Forms EIA–63A and

EIA–63B. No substantive modifications

to the currently approved forms will be

proposed unless substantive suggestions

are received and approved.

III. Request for Comments

Prospective respondents and other

interested parties should comment on

the actions discussed in item II. The

following guidelines are provided to

assist in the preparation of comments.

(If the notice covers more than one form,

add ‘‘Please indicate to which form(s)

your comments apply.’’)

General Issues

A. Is the proposed collection of

information necessary for the proper

performance of the functions of the

agency and does the information have

practical utility? Practical utility is

defined as the actual usefulness of

information to or for an agency, taking

into account its accuracy, adequacy,

reliability, timeliness, and the agency’s

ability to process the information it

collects.

B. What enhancements can be made

to the quality, utility, and clarity of the

information to be collected?

As a Potential Respondent to the

Request for Information

A. Are the instructions and

definitions clear and sufficient? If not,

which instructions need clarification?

B. Can the information be submitted

by the due date?

C. Public reporting burden for this

collection is estimated to average 3

hours per response. The estimated

burden includes the total time necessary

to provide the requested information. In

your opinion, how accurate is this

estimate?

D. The agency estimates that the only

cost to a respondent is for the time it

will take to complete the collection.

Will a respondent incur any start-up

costs for reporting, or any recurring