Notice2023-03201
Grid Deployment Office Draft Guidance on Implementing the Maintaining and Enhancing Hydroelectricity Incentives
Primary source
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Published
February 15, 2023
Issuing agencies
Energy Department
Abstract
The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) gives notice of availability of a Draft Guidance and requests comment on the Draft Guidance to inform its implementation of hydroelectric incentives in the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act of 2021 (IIJA). The Draft Guidance describes the application process and the information necessary for the Secretary of Energy to make incentive payments to owners and authorized operators of qualified hydroelectric facilities pursuant to the Energy Policy Act of 2005 (EPAct 2005), Maintaining and Enhancing Hydroelectricity Incentives.
Full Text
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<title>Federal Register, Volume 88 Issue 31 (Wednesday, February 15, 2023)</title>
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[Federal Register Volume 88, Number 31 (Wednesday, February 15, 2023)]
[Notices]
[Pages 9874-9876]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [<a href="http://www.gpo.gov">www.gpo.gov</a>]
[FR Doc No: 2023-03201]
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DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY
Grid Deployment Office Draft Guidance on Implementing the
Maintaining and Enhancing Hydroelectricity Incentives
AGENCY: Grid Deployment Office, Office of the Under Secretary for
Infrastructure, Department of Energy.
ACTION: Notification of availability of Draft Guidance and request for
comment.
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SUMMARY: The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) gives notice of
availability of a Draft Guidance and requests comment on the Draft
Guidance to inform its implementation of hydroelectric incentives in
the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act of 2021 (IIJA). The Draft
Guidance describes the application process and the information
necessary for the Secretary of Energy to make incentive payments to
owners and authorized operators of qualified hydroelectric facilities
pursuant to the Energy Policy Act of 2005 (EPAct 2005), Maintaining and
Enhancing Hydroelectricity Incentives.
DATES: DOE will accept comments, data, and information regarding this
Draft Guidance no later than 5:00 p.m. ET on February 28, 2023. See
``Public participation'' under SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION, sections for
details.
DOE will hold a public meeting via webinar on Thursday, February
16, 2023, at 1:00 p.m. ET, see ``Public Participation'' under
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION, sections for webinar registration
information, participant instructions, and information about the
capabilities available to webinar participants.
DOE is also offering an opportunity to submit an individual verbal
response in lieu of or in addition to providing written responses to
the Draft Guidance.
[[Page 9875]]
Respondents may request a 30-minute individual unrecorded opportunity
to provide a verbal response to DOE staff. Requests for an individual
verbal response must be requested no later than 5:00 p.m. (ET) on
Thursday, February 16, 2023. See ``Public participation'' under
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION, sections for details.
ADDRESSES: Interested parties are to submit written comments
electronically to <a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#94fcedf0e6fbf1f8f1f7e0e6fdf7fdfaf7f1fae0fde2f1e7d4fce5baf0fbf1baf3fbe2"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="b9d1c0ddcbd6dcd5dcdacdcbd0dad0d7dadcd7cdd0cfdccaf9d1c897ddd6dc97ded6cf">[email protected]</span></a>. DOE's Draft
Guidance is available at: <a href="https://www.energy.gov/gdo/hydroelectric-247-draft-guidance">https://www.energy.gov/gdo/hydroelectric-247-draft-guidance</a>.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Questions may be addressed to Ms.
Luciana Ciocci, U.S. Department of Energy, Grid Deployment Office, 1000
Independence Ave. SW, Washington, DC 20585, (202) 480-5768 or by email
at <a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#c6aebfa2b4a9a3aaa3a5b2b4afa5afa8a5a3a8b2afb0a3b586aeb7e8a2a9a3e8a1a9b0"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="96feeff2e4f9f3faf3f5e2e4fff5fff8f5f3f8e2ffe0f3e5d6fee7b8f2f9f3b8f1f9e0">[email protected]</span></a>. Further instruction can be found
in the Draft Guidance posted at <a href="https://www.energy.gov/gdo/hydroelectric-247-draft-guidance">https://www.energy.gov/gdo/hydroelectric-247-draft-guidance</a>. Electronic communications are
recommended for correspondence and required for submission of comments.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Through section 40333 of the IIJA, Public
Law 117-58, Congress amended EPAct 2005, Public Law 109-58, to
establish Section 247, Maintaining and Enhancing Hydroelectricity
Incentives. See 42 U.S.C. 15883. The provision requires the Secretary
to make incentive payments to the owner or authorized operator of a
qualified hydroelectric facility, subject to the availability of
appropriations, for capital improvements directly related to improving
grid resilience, improving dam safety, and environmental
improvements.\1\ Incentive payments may be made upon receipt by the
Secretary of an incentive payment application that demonstrates that
the applicant is eligible to receive such payment and satisfies the
other requirements as deemed necessary.
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\1\ See 42 U.S.C. 15883(b).
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Under the statute, the incentive payments include the following
limitations: an incentive payment shall not exceed 30 percent of the
costs of the applicable capital improvement(s); and no more than one
incentive payment may be made to a single qualified hydroelectric
facility in any fiscal year that shall not exceed $5,000,000.\2\
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\2\ See 42 U.S.C. 15883(c).
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On June 30, 2022, DOE released a Request for Information (RFI) to
provide interested parties the opportunity to provide preliminary
feedback on the design of the section 247 of EPAct 2005 incentive
program.\3\ Based on the RFI responses, the DOE Grid Deployment
Office's (GDO) Hydroelectric Incentives Program has developed the Draft
Guidance and now seeks public comment on this draft.
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\3\ See 87 FR 40515 (Jul 7, 2022).
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The Draft Guidance describes the application process and the
information necessary for the Secretary of Energy to make incentive
payments to owners and authorized operators of qualified hydroelectric
facilities pursuant to section 247 of EPAct 2005, Maintaining and
Enhancing Hydroelectricity Incentives.
The Draft Guidance consists of fourteen sections.
I. Purpose and Scope
II. Authority
III. List of Definitions
IV. Who may apply?
V. What is a qualified hydroelectric facility?
VI. How will the Program allocate funding for eligible capital
improvement projects?
VII. At what stage in the development process would a capital
improvement project be eligible to apply for an incentive payment?
VIII. What are the general application requirements?
IX. What types of capital improvement projects qualify for incentive
payments and what information does DOE need to determine whether a
project is eligible?
[cir] Grid Resiliency
[cir] Dam Safety
[cir] Environmental Improvements
X. What is the timing of incentive payments?
XI. What are the procedures for processing applications?
XII. FAQ (this section will include questions that don't easily fit
within the above categories)
XIII. Funding Restrictions
XIV. Administrative Appeals
While reviewers are welcome to provide comments on all aspects of
this Draft Guidance, DOE is particularly interested in receiving
comments with respect to the following five questions.
(1) The DOE proposes to use a scoring criteria rubric to prioritize
which capital improvement applications are awarded funding in the event
the program is oversubscribed (i.e., more eligible applications than
available funding). DOE seeks feedback on this approach. (See Section
IX of the Draft Guidance).
(2) The DOE proposes to distribute funds in an equitable manner in
the event the program is oversubscribed. To do so, the DOE plans to
fund applications in all three of the categories of capital
improvements (i.e., improving grid resiliency, improving dam safety,
and environmental improvements) by selecting the top scoring
application in each category for small projects and remaining eligible
projects. DOE seeks feedback on this approach. (See Section XI of the
Draft Guidance).
(3) Recognizing that small hydropower facilities make up 75 percent
of the nation's hydropower fleet, the DOE intends to allocate up to 25
percent of the program funding to support capital improvements made at
small hydropower projects (nameplate capacity of 10 MW or less that is
owned or operated by a small business, Indian tribe, municipality, or
electric cooperative.) DOE seeks feedback on this approach. (See
Section IV of the Draft Guidance).
(4) To balance risk while incentivizing hydropower owners and
operators to make qualified capital improvements, DOE is proposing to
provide a portion of the funding (up to 10 percent) up front and the
remainder upon completion of the capital improvement(s). DOE seeks
feedback on this approach. (See Section X of the Draft Guidance).
(5) DOE estimates eight (8) hours of preparation time for the EPAct
2005 Section 247 application. DOE seeks comment on this estimate.
Public Participation: DOE is offering three response options to the
request for comment on Draft Guidance.
Public Informational Webinar: On Thursday, February 16, 2023, at
1:00 p.m. ET, an informal Public Informational Webinar will be held to
discuss general feedback from interested parties regarding the content
of Draft Guidance. To register for this informational webinar, please
sign up at: <a href="https://nrel.zoomgov.com/meeting/register/vJItce-srj4tHat8gC1lnCcPw5PvjSVDogo">https://nrel.zoomgov.com/meeting/register/vJItce-srj4tHat8gC1lnCcPw5PvjSVDogo</a>. Participants are responsible for ensuring
their systems are compatible with the webinar software. The webinar is
open to all members of the public. Any person who has an interest in
the topics addressed in the Draft Guidance or identified in this
request for comment, or who is representative of a group or class of
persons that has an interest in these issues, may request an
opportunity to make an oral presentation at the webinar within the
webinar registration page. A DOE designated official will preside over
the webinar and may also use a professional facilitator to aid
discussion. The webinar will not be a judicial or evidentiary-type
public hearing. The webinar will be recorded, and a transcript of the
proceedings will be made available on DOE's website. DOE reserves the
right to schedule the order of presentations and to establish the
procedures governing the conduct of the webinar. There shall not be
discussion of proprietary information, costs or prices, market share,
or other
[[Page 9876]]
commercial matters regulated by U.S. anti-trust laws.
Written Response: Interested parties are to submit written comments
electronically to <a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#066e7f627469636a636572746f656f68656368726f706375466e772862696328616970"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="e58d9c81978a8089808691978c868c8b86808b918c938096a58d94cb818a80cb828a93">[email protected]</span></a> no later than 5:00
p.m. (ET) on Tuesday, February 28, 2023. Responses must be provided as
attachments to an email. It is recommended that attachments with file
sizes exceeding 25MB be compressed (i.e., zipped) to ensure message
delivery. Responses must be provided as a Microsoft Word (.docx) or
Adobe PDF (.pdf) attachment to the email, and no more than 15 pages in
length, 12-point font, 1-inch margins. Only electronic responses will
be accepted.
For ease of replying and to aid categorization of your responses,
please copy and paste the questions from this request for comment or
the relevant section of the Draft Guidance as a template for your
response. Respondents may answer as many or as few questions as they
wish. DOE GDO will not respond to individual submissions or publish
publicly a compendium of responses. A response to this request for
comment will not be viewed as a binding commitment to develop or pursue
the project or ideas discussed.
Respondents are requested to provide the following information at
the start of their written response to this request for comment:
<bullet> Company/institution name;
<bullet> Company/institution contact;
<bullet> Contact's address, phone number, and email address.
Individual Verbal Response: DOE is also offering an opportunity to
submit an individual verbal response in lieu of or in addition to
providing written responses to the Draft Guidance, respondents may
request a 30-minute individual unrecorded opportunity to provide a
verbal response to a DOE staff member. The discussion with a DOE staff
member will be limited to the topics presented in the Draft Guidance.
Please submit your request to <a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#046c7d60766b6168616770766d676d6a67616a706d726177446c752a606b612a636b72"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="553d2c31273a3039303621273c363c3b36303b213c233026153d247b313a307b323a23">[email protected]</span></a> and
you will be contacted by a GDO staff member to schedule a time.
Requests for an individual verbal response must be submitted no later
than 5:00 p.m. (ET) on Thursday, February 16, 2023.
Respondents will be asked to provide the following information at
the start of the verbal response to this request for comment:
A. Company/institution name;
B. Company/institution contact;
C. Contact's address, phone number, and email address.
Disclaimer and Important Notes
This request for comment is not a Funding Opportunity Announcement
(FOA); therefore, GDO is not accepting applications at this time.
Responding to this request does not provide any advantage or
disadvantage to potential applicants if GDO chooses to issue a
solicitation regarding the subject matter in the future. Final details,
including the anticipated size, quantity, and timing of GDO funded
incentives, will be subject to Congressional appropriations and
direction.
Any information obtained as a result of this request for comment is
intended to be used by the Government on a non-attribution basis for
planning and strategy development; this request for comment does not
constitute a formal solicitation for proposals or abstracts. Your
response to this request for comment will be treated as information
only. GDO 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. GDO will not provide reimbursement for
costs incurred in responding to this request for comment. Respondents
are advised that GDO is under no obligation to acknowledge receipt of
the information received or provide feedback to respondents with
respect to any information submitted under this request for comment.
Responses to this request for comment do not bind GDO to any further
actions related to this topic.
Confidential Business Information
Pursuant to 10 CFR 1004.11, any person submitting information that
he or she believes to be confidential and exempt by law from public
disclosure should submit via email, postal mail, or hand delivery two
well-marked copies: one copy of the document marked ``confidential''
including all the information believed to be confidential, and one copy
of the document marked ``non-confidential'' with the information
believed to be confidential deleted. Submit these documents via email
or on a CD, if feasible. DOE will make its own determination about the
confidential status of the information and treat it according to its
determination.
It is DOE's policy that all comments may be included in the public
docket, without change and as received, including any personal
information provided in the comments (except information deemed to be
exempt from public disclosure).
Evaluation and Administration by Federal and Non-Federal Personnel
Federal employees are subject to the non-disclosure requirements of
a criminal statute, the Trade Secrets Act, 18 U.S.C. 1905. The
Government may seek the advice of qualified non-Federal personnel. The
Government may also use non-Federal personnel to conduct routine,
nondiscretionary administrative activities. The respondents, by
submitting their response, consent to GDO providing their response to
non-Federal parties. Non-Federal parties given access to responses must
be subject to an appropriate obligation of confidentiality prior to
being given the access. Submissions may be reviewed by support
contractors and private consultants.
Signing Authority
This document of the Department of Energy was signed on February 8,
2023, by Maria Duaime Robinson, pursuant to delegated authority from
the Secretary of Energy. That document with the original signature and
date is maintained by DOE. For administrative purposes only, and in
compliance with requirements of the Office of the Federal Register, the
undersigned DOE Federal Register Liaison Officer has been authorized to
sign and submit the document in electronic format for publication, as
an official document of the Department of Energy. This administrative
process in no way alters the legal effect of this document upon
publication in the Federal Register.
Signed in Washington, DC, on February 10, 2023.
Treena V. Garrett,
Federal Register Liaison Officer, U.S. Department of Energy.
[FR Doc. 2023-03201 Filed 2-14-23; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6450-01-P
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