Notice2022-20138
Notice of Request for Information on Photovoltaic Systems
Primary source
Metadata and text below are from the Federal Register, a public-domain U.S. government work. Always verify the official published version before relying on it for any legal matter.
Published
September 19, 2022
Issuing agencies
General Services Administration
Abstract
The General Services Administration (GSA) is seeking information from industry on the availability of domestically manufactured solar photovoltaic (PV) panels and components and feasibility of requiring the use of such PV panels and components for future projects.
Full Text
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<title>Federal Register, Volume 87 Issue 180 (Monday, September 19, 2022)</title>
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[Federal Register Volume 87, Number 180 (Monday, September 19, 2022)]
[Notices]
[Pages 57195-57197]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [<a href="http://www.gpo.gov">www.gpo.gov</a>]
[FR Doc No: 2022-20138]
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GENERAL SERVICES ADMINISTRATION
[Notice MVAC-2022-01; Docket No. 2022-0002; Sequence No. 23]
Notice of Request for Information on Photovoltaic Systems
AGENCY: Office of Acquisition Policy, General Services Administration
(GSA).
ACTION: Notice; request for information (RFI).
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SUMMARY: The General Services Administration (GSA) is seeking
information from industry on the availability of domestically
manufactured solar photovoltaic (PV) panels and components and
feasibility of requiring the use of such PV panels and components for
future projects.
DATES: Interested parties should submit comments to the address shown
below on or before November 18, 2022.
ADDRESSES: Comments to the RFI must be provided in writing. Interested
parties are to submit their written comments electronically to <a href="https://www.regulations.gov">https://www.regulations.gov</a>. Submit comments via the Federal eRulemaking portal
by searching for ``RFI Photovoltaic Systems''. Select the link
``Comment Now'' that corresponds with the RFI and follow the
instructions provided on the screen. Please include your name, company
name (if any), and ``RFI Photovoltaic Systems'' on your attached
document. If your comment cannot be submitted using <a href="https://www.regulations.gov">https://www.regulations.gov</a>, call or email the points of contact in the FOR
FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT section of this document for alternate
instructions.
You are not required to answer all of the questions in the RFI, but
the more information we receive, the better GSA's understanding of the
domestically manufactured solar panel and/or components market.
Comments received generally will be posted without change to
<a href="https://www.regulations.gov">https://www.regulations.gov</a>, including any personal and/or business
confidential information provided. To confirm receipt of your
comment(s), please check <a href="https://www.regulations.gov">https://www.regulations.gov</a> approximately two-
to-three days after submission to verify posting.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Ms. Adina Torberntsson, Procurement
Analyst, at <a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#7a1d091b080a15161319033a1d091b541d150c"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="7a1d091b080a15161319033a1d091b541d150c">[email protected]</span></a>, for
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clarification of content. For information pertaining to status or
publication schedules, contact the Regulatory Secretariat at 202-501-
4755 or <a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#2f485c4e5d4a485c4a4c6f485c4e01484059"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="baddc9dbc8dfddc9dfd9faddc9db94ddd5cc">[email protected]</span></a>. Please cite RFI Photovoltaic Systems.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Purpose
To obtain relevant information from domestic commercial PV panel
and system component manufacturers and resellers, PV panel purchasers
and installers, and renewable electricity providers, including small
businesses.
The information received will help GSA develop a procurement
strategy, to potentially include a procurement standard for use in
future solicitations where the use of PV panels and components are
required.
GSA intends to use the information generated from this Request for
Information (RFI) in support of the goals expressed in section 203 of
Executive Order (E.O.) 14057, Catalyzing Clean Energy Industries and
Jobs Through Federal Sustainability (December 8, 2021), as well as the
White House Fact Sheet, titled President Biden Takes Bold Executive
Action to Spur Domestic Clean Energy Manufacturing (June 6, 2022).
GSA seeks to learn more from industry regarding the use of
domestically manufactured PV panels and components in contract types
including: Power Purchase Agreements (PPA), Energy Savings Performance
Contracts (ESPC), Utility Energy Service Contracts (UESC), solar array
development contracts, and other acquisition vehicles depending on
future need. This RFI is also being issued in anticipation of future
projects that may be funded by the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) (Pub.
L. 117-169). GSA is particularly interested in the impacts of this
initiative on underserved or disadvantaged communities.
This RFI is for general fact-gathering purposes. Interested parties
will not be reimbursed for any costs related to providing information
in response to this RFI. The Government does not intend to award a
contract on the basis of this RFI.
Requested Information From Industry
In submitting your response, please number your answers with which
question you are answering, for example: Requested Information Specific
to Manufacturing 2(a)(i).
For purposes of organizing the data received, please provide the
following information in your response:
<bullet> What is your company or organization name, point of
contact, telephone number, and email address?
<bullet> What is the nature of your company or organization?
[cir] Are you a solar panel or component provider, manufacturer,
re-seller, or retailer (for residential, commercial, or utility scale);
developer, utility company, or other (specify)?
[cir] Describe your business in a few sentences, to include how
long your company or organization has provided these services.
<bullet> What is your company or organization's primary North
American Industry Classification System (NAICS) code?
[cir] The NAICS code for photovoltaic cell manufacturing is 334413,
Semiconductor and Related Device Manufacturing. If you operate under a
different NAICS code for other elements of this RFI please provide your
primary NAICS code.
<bullet> With your primary NAICS code in mind, what is your
company's size status, is your company a large or small business?
[cir] As defined by the Small Business Administration, the size
standard to qualify as a small business for NAICS code 334413 is fewer
than 1,250 employees.
[cir] What, if any, small business socio-economic categories apply
to your business, such as Small Disadvantaged Business, Woman-Owned
Small Business, Veteran-Owned Small Business, Service-Disabled Veteran-
Owned, or Historically Underutilized Business Zone?
Requested Information Specific to Manufacturing
1. Is your company an established PV panel or component
manufacturer (defined for the purposes of the RFI as the panel or
component being in commercial production for 2 or more years)?
2. Does your company or organization manufacture PV panels or
system components for the arrays domestically?
a. If yes, please provide a brief description to include the place
of manufacture and where in the supply chain your product falls, i.e.,
do you manufacture a component or assemble the final panel system or
components?
i. What is your company's production capacity of domestically
manufactured solar panels?
ii. Are you anticipating an increase or decrease in production
capacity in the next 10-year timeframe? Why or why not?
b. From which countries do you or your suppliers source the
majority of the raw materials for the PV panels or components?
i. Please provide the countries of origin for each major component
if purchased outside of the U.S.
ii. Please describe current traceability tools and how effective
they are.
iii. Has your due diligence in monitoring your supply chain changed
as a direct result of the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act (UFLPA)?
Is implementation of the UFLPA a help or hindrance to domestic
manufacturing?
iv. Do you have capacity to trace and certify that your products
meet the component test for manufactured goods of 55% called out in the
Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IJA) and 55%, incrementally
increasing to 75% over time, for federal procurements?
v. With recent legislative changes, are there now more mechanisms
to trace the country of origin for the components? Please describe.
3. Has your company experienced availability, quality, workability,
or durability challenges with PV panels and/or components?
a. Have you seen any differences in the availability, quality,
workability, or durability between PV panels manufactured foreignly or
domestically?
b. Are there good examples of quality assurance and quality control
procedures/programs for PV panels or components that you trust?
4. If your company has been in panel/component commercial
production for fewer than two years, please disclose which part of the
domestic PV supply chain your company will support.
5. It is our understanding that there are primarily two types of
panels commercially available: crystalline silicon and tellurium. Is
your firm developing or close to commercializing new panel technology
outside of these two types?
6. Please provide as many details as you can in response to the
questions listed below:
a. What is the rated wattage of your PV panels?
b. What is the efficiency rating of your PV panels?
c. What is the weight of your PV panels?
d. What type of warranty do you offer for your PV panels?
e. What is the product warranty period for your PV panels?
f. What is the power warranty after 25 years of operation?
g. Do you have embodied carbon product declarations (EPDs) for the
panels that you produce or sell? If yes, how is this calculated and are
shipping logistics included?
h. Do you perceive a difference in efficiency expectations between
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residential, commercial, and utility-scale PV panels, and if yes what
is the difference?
7. What steps would be needed to increase circularity (or
recyclability) in the PV manufacturing sector?
a. What are roadblocks to circularity/recyclability in the PV
industry and are those barriers alleviated with federal subsidies?
b. Describe your recycling process for PV panels or its components
(if any). What technology is needed in order to improve on recycling?
Requested Information Specific to Installers
8. Is your company or organization taking action to source
domestically manufactured PV panels and/or components?
a. If yes, what actions are you taking and why are you taking those
actions?
9. Other than the price, are there other obstacles to sourcing
domestically made PV panels and/or components?
a. Are there obstacles to identifying skilled labor to complete the
installations?
10. Has your company or organization experienced availability,
quality, workability, or durability challenges with PV panels and/or
components?
a. Have you seen any differences between foreign and domestic
products for PV panels and system components?
Requested Information Specific to Developers
11. If you are a developer who anticipates construction of new
solar generation facilities in the next five years, what barriers can
you identify to using domestically manufactured PV panels and/or
components?
a. Are there state laws or regulations preventing energy providers
from requiring domestically made PV panels and components?
12. What opportunities, if present, would encourage use of
domestically manufactured PV panels and/or components for such
generation facilities?
a. Is your company aware of any disruptive technologies that could
render current PV panels and/or components, or system designs outdated
or incompatible with existing systems?
Requested Information on Market Availability
13. What are the technical, economic, logistical, or regulatory
obstacles that exist to domestically manufacturing PV panels or
purchasing renewable energy as a commodity? Does the IRA resolve any of
these obstacles for your company?
14. How will the IRA and potentially more federal opportunities for
use of domestically manufactured PV panels or components help you
expand or increase your rate of growth? Are there other initiatives or
factors that impede or spur growth in this area? How will the IRA
impact the purchase of power versus the PV systems themselves?
15. If you are not a manufacturer, to what extent do you acquire PV
panels systems or components from domestic sources? Do you expect your
purchasing behavior will change as a result of federal subsidies?
Requested Information on Acquisition Practices
16. What would be the likely impacts of the Government requiring in
its procurements that solar energy under such contracts be generated
using domestically manufactured PV panels or components?
a. What are the risks/downsides?
b. What are the opportunities/upsides?
c. If you are a developer, would such a requirement change your
willingness to participate in future federal opportunities?
17. Other than establishing a requirement, what steps could the
Government take to use federal acquisition to leverage domestic PV
panel or component manufacturing?
18. If the Government were to pursue developing a procurement
standard for domestically manufactured PV panels or components, what
key elements should be contained in that standard to encourage domestic
manufacturing?
19. What components in PV panels would be difficult to source
domestically?
a. Do different components in PV panels need different timeframes
for being domestically sourced without difficulty?
20. There is an Electronic Product Environmental Assessment Tool
(EPEAT) ecolabel for PV panels and inverters. Please share your
company's plan/timeline to get your PV panels EPEAT registered.
a. What percentage of the components of your EPEAT registered solar
panels do you anticipate would be domestically sourced?
b. How does your company ensure that your solar supply chain does
not utilize forced labor? Will your company's supply chain be impacted
by the recently passed Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act?
c. What steps can the Government take to further protect your
supply chain from forced labor concerns?
d. If the EPEAT criteria for PV panels and/or components were
updated to address forced labor within the supply chain, what approach
would you recommend be taken in the new criteria?
21. If there is anything else that you want the Government to
consider in encouraging domestic manufacturing of PV panels and
components, please address.
Jeffrey A. Koses,
Senior Procurement Executive, Office of Acquisition Policy, Office of
Government-wide Policy, General Services Administration.
[FR Doc. 2022-20138 Filed 9-16-22; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6820-61-P
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