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Buy America Request for Information Publication: Federal Register Departments: Department of Transportation & Department of Energy Byline: Polly Trottenberg & Kelly J. Speakes-Backman Date: 24 November 2021 Subjects: American Government  , Electric Vehicles
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[Federal Register Volume 86, Number 224 (Wednesday, November 24, 2021)]
[Notices]
[Pages 67115-67118]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2021-25717]
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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION
DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY
[Docket No. FHWA-2021-0015]
Buy America Request for Information
AGENCY: U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT), U.S. Department of
Energy. (DOE).
[[Page 67116]]
ACTION: Notice; request for information (RFI).
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SUMMARY: Reshaping the United States transportation system with
electric vehicle (EV) charging infrastructure is an important part of
the solution to the climate crisis. EV charger manufacturing, assembly,
installation, and maintenance all have the potential to not only
support policies on sustainability and climate, but also to create
good-paying, union jobs in the United States. This RFI is intended to
gather information on shifting manufacturing and assembly processes to
the United States considering the bold investment planned in EV
charging. DOT and DOE (the Agencies) are interested in hearing from the
public, including stakeholders (such as State and local agencies, the
EV charger manufacturing industry, component suppliers, labor unions,
related associations, and transportation advocates), on the
availability of EV chargers manufactured and assembled in the United
States, including whether they comply with applicable Buy America
requirements.
DATES: Comments must be received on or before January 10, 2022.
ADDRESSES: To ensure that you do not duplicate your docket submissions,
please submit all comments by only one of the following ways:
[ssquf] Federal eRulemaking Portal: Go to www.regulations.gov and
follow the online instructions for submitting comments.
[ssquf] Mail: Docket Management Facility, U.S. Department of
Transportation, 1200 New Jersey Ave. SE, W12-140, Washington, DC 20590-
0001.
[ssquf] Hand Delivery: West Building Ground Floor, Room W12-140,
1200 New Jersey Ave. SE, Washington, DC 20590-0001, between 9 a.m. and
5 p.m. E.T., Monday through Friday, except Federal holidays. The
telephone number is 202-366-9329.
[ssquf] Instructions: You must include the agency name and the
docket number, FHWA-2021-0015, at the beginning of your comments. All
comments received will be posted without change to www.regulations.gov,
including any personal information provided.
[ssquf] Privacy Act: Except as provided below, all comments
received into the docket will be searchable by the name of the
individual submitting the comment (or signing the comment, if submitted
on behalf of an association, business, labor union, etc.). You may
review DOT's complete Privacy Act Statement in the Federal Register
published on April 11, 2000 (65 FR 19477) or at www.regulations.gov/privacy.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For questions about this RFI, please
contact Mr. Brian Hogge, FHWA Office of Infrastructure, 202-366-1562,
or via email at Brian.Hogge@dot.gov. For legal questions, please
contact Mr. Patrick C. Smith, FHWA Office of the Chief Counsel, 202-
366-1345, or via email at Patrick.C.Smith@dot.gov. Office hours for
FHWA are from 8:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., E.T., Monday through Friday,
except Federal holidays.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Electronic Access
A copy of this Notice, all comments received on this Notice, and
all background material may be viewed online at https://www.regulations.gov using the docket number listed above. Electronic
retrieval help and guidelines are also available at https://www.regulations.gov. An electronic copy of this document also may be
downloaded from the Office of the Federal Register's website at:
www.FederalRegister.gov and the Government Publishing Office's database
at: www.GovInfo.gov.
Confidential Business Information
Confidential Business Information (CBI) is commercial or financial
information that is both customarily and actually treated as private by
its owner. Under the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) (5 U.S.C. 552),
CBI is exempt from public disclosure. If your comments responsive to
this RFI contain commercial or financial information that is
customarily treated as private, that you actually treat as private, and
that is relevant or responsive to this RFI, it is important that you
clearly designate the submitted comments as CBI. Pursuant to 49 CFR
190.343 and 10 CFR 1004.11, you may ask DOT and DOE to give
confidential treatment to information you give to the Agency by taking
the following steps: (1) Mark each page of the original document
submission containing CBI as ``Confidential''; (2) send the Agencies,
along with the original document, a second copy of the original
document with the CBI deleted; and (3) explain why the information you
are submitting is CBI. Unless you are notified otherwise, the Agencies
will treat such marked submissions as confidential under the FOIA, and
they will not be placed in the public docket of this RFI. Submissions
containing CBI should be sent to Mr. Brian Hogge, FHWA, 1200 New Jersey
Avenue SE, HICP-20, Washington, DC 20590. Any comment submissions that
the Agencies receive that are not specifically designated as CBI will
be placed in the public docket for this matter.
General Summary
The President has laid out a bold vision for making transformative
transportation investments to support job growth and reshape the U.S.
transportation system to support a sustainable energy and climate
future. The President has set the ambitious goal of building a new
national network of 500,000 EV chargers by 2030.\1\ The Infrastructure
Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA) includes $7.5 billion to build out
electric vehicle charging across the nation to make the bold vision a
reality. EV charger manufacturing, assembly, installation, and
maintenance all have the potential to not only support the President's
policies on sustainability and climate, but also to create good-paying,
union jobs in the United States. Currently, the Agencies have limited
information on the manufacturing and assembly of EV chargers, such as
whether EV chargers manufactured in the United States can comply with
applicable Buy America requirements.
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\1\ White House Fact Sheet: Biden Administration Advances
Electric Vehicle Charging Infrastructure (Apr. 22, 2021), available
at https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/statements-releases/2021/04/22/fact-sheet-biden-administration-advances-electric-vehicle-charging-infrastructure/.
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This RFI is intended to: (i) Help the Agencies better understand
whether and to what extent domestic sourcing is available now or may be
possible in the future for EV charging equipment and components; (ii)
ensure domestic manufacturers have the opportunity to identify any EV
charger meeting applicable Buy America requirement; (iii) ensure
domestic manufacturers have the opportunity to identify any EV charger
that could meet a domestic final assembly condition, and identify the
portion of components that meet a domestic final assembly condition;
and (iv) highlight benefits of shifting manufacturing and assembly
processes to the United States considering the bold investment planned
in this area.
The investment in EV chargers in the Bipartisan Infrastructure Deal
(Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, H.R. 3684, 117th Cong. (2021))
(hereinafter referred to as the BID), can create good-paying, union
jobs in America for installation and maintenance that cannot be
outsourced. Moreover, domestic jobs may also be created to manufacture
domestically available components of those systems.
[[Page 67117]]
The Agencies are seeking information on the potential benefits to
the domestic EV industry of bringing more EV charging equipment
manufacturing and assembly to the United States. By shifting
manufacturing and assembly processes to the United States for EV
chargers as soon as is practicable, and making necessary arrangements
with vendors to obtain appropriate certifications showing Buy America
compliance for steel and iron components, domestic manufacturing firms
have potential to obtain significant first-adopter benefits from the
bold investments planned in EV charging infrastructure. Due to FHWA's
existing Buy America requirement, if only one domestic manufacturer
produces an EV charger meeting its requirement, States that use
Federal-aid funds would have to use that manufacturer assuming it can
meet demand. The Agencies, through this RFI, aim to gather data and
information on domestic manufacturing of EV chargers, including
understanding the capability of maximizing the domestic content of EV
chargers and opportunities for American workers to manufacture,
assemble, install, and maintain them.
Through this RFI, the Agencies seek information regarding the
availability of EV chargers manufactured and assembled in the United
States, including whether they comply with applicable Buy America
requirements. Although the Agencies are not aware of any EV chargers
currently able to meet applicable Buy America requirement for steel and
iron, the Agencies are interested in promptly obtaining more
information on this issue and others set forth below. Obtaining this
information promptly is necessary for the Agencies to determine how
best to simultaneously support the President's policies on climate,
create a national network of EV charging infrastructure, and comply
with Buy America requirements.
Background
In January 2021, the President issued Executive Order (E.O.) 14005,
titled ``Ensuring the Future is Made in All of America by All of
America's Workers.'' 86 FR 7475 (Jan. 28, 2021). E.O. 14005 states that
the United States Government ``should, consistent with applicable law,
use terms and conditions of Federal financial assistance awards and
Federal procurements to maximize the use of goods, products, and
materials produced in, and services offered in, the United States.''
The Agencies are committed to ensuring strong and effective Buy America
implementation consistent with E.O. 14005. Obtaining information
through this RFI is essential to determine how the Agencies might spur
and incentivize domestic manufacturing of EV chargers, including EV
chargers that meet applicable Buy America requirement for steel and
iron. At the same time, the Agencies must also consider how to ensure
that EV chargers are widely available in the immediate future for FHWA-
funded projects in the United States in support of policies to address
the climate crisis, as discussed below.
In January 2021, the President also issued E.O. 14008, titled
Tackling the Climate Crisis at Home and Abroad. 86 FR 7619 (Feb. 1,
2021). The President has directed the Federal government to use the
full capacity of its agencies and implement a Government-wide approach
to address the climate crisis throughout the economy. This approach
includes deployment of clean energy technologies and infrastructure. In
the context of EV charging infrastructure, the White House has also
expressed the goal to accelerate deployment of electric vehicles and
charging stations, which will create good-paying, union jobs and move
us forward on the path toward a clean transportation future.\2\
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\2\ White House FACT SHEET: Biden Administration Advances
Electric Vehicle Charging Infrastructure, Apr. 22, 2021. https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/statements-releases/2021/04/22/fact-sheet-biden-administration-advances-electric-vehicle-charging-infrastructure/.
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EVs, which produce zero tailpipe emissions and can be powered by
clean, renewable energy instead of gasoline or diesel fuel, are an
important part of the solution to the climate crisis. The President's
goal of building a new national network of 500,000 EV chargers by 2030
is a key strategy for reducing greenhouse gas emissions.
Buy America Requirements Under Title 23, United States Code, and the
BID
The existing FHWA Buy America requirement, set forth at 23 U.S.C.
313 and 23 CFR 635.410, requires that all steel and iron that is
permanently incorporated into a project must be manufactured in the
United States unless a waiver is granted, including steel and iron
components of a manufactured product. This requirement applies to the
obligation of Title 23 U.S.C. funds. For all steel or iron materials to
be used in projects that involve the obligation of Federal funds, all
manufacturing processes, including application of a coating, must occur
in the United States. Coating includes all processes which protect or
enhance the value of the material to which the coating is applied. Such
projects involve both the acquisition and installation of such
equipment. Additionally, the FHWA's Buy America requirement applies to
all contracts regardless of the funding source if any contract within
the scope of a determination under the National Environmental Policy
Act (NEPA) involves an obligation of Federal funds. See 23 U.S.C.
313(g). DOT and DOE are also committed to ensuring strong and effective
Buy America implementation consistent with E.O. 14005. E.O. 14005 calls
for maximizing domestic content and services using terms and conditions
of Federal financial assistance awards and Federal procurements.
FHWA currently applies its standard for steel or iron materials
under 23 CFR 635.410 to the steel or iron components of predominantly
steel or iron manufactured products.\3\ For steel and iron components
of predominantly steel and iron products, FHWA requires that ``all
manufacturing processes, including application of a coating, for these
materials must occur in the United States.'' 23 CFR 635.410(b)(1)(ii).
For manufactured products that are not predominantly steel and iron,
the FHWA currently has a nationwide general waiver from Buy America
requirements, which has been in effect since 1983. 48 FR 53099 (Nov.
25, 1983).
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\3\ See https://www.fhwa.dot.gov/programadmin/contracts/122297.cfm; and Question #12, at https://www.fhwa.dot.gov/construction/contracts/buyam_qa.cfm.
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In addition to existing FHWA Buy America requirements, Title IX,
Subtitle A of the BID, entitled ``Build America, Buy America'' (BABA),
provides that not later than 180 days after the date of enactment of
the BID, funds made available for a Federal financial assistance
program for infrastructure may not be obligated for a project unless
all of the iron, steel, manufactured products, and construction
materials used in the project are produced in the United States. BID,
at Sec. 70914(a).
The compliance standard for iron or steel products in the BID at
Sec. 70912(6)(A) is similar to the FHWA standard for steel or iron
materials at 23 CFR 635.410(b)(1). Also, the BID adds a new category of
materials that are covered by Buy America. Specifically, the BID
extends Buy America coverage to ``construction materials.'' BID, at
Sec. 70912(6)(C). The bill also provides that not later than 180 days
after the date of enactment of BID, the Director of the Office of
Management and Budget (OMB) must issue standards that define the term
``all manufacturing processes''
[[Page 67118]]
in the case of construction materials. BID, at Sec. 70915(b)(1). In
issuing the standards, OMB must ensure that each manufacturing process
required for the manufacture of the construction material and the
inputs of the construction material occurs in the United States. BID,
at Sec. 70915(b)(2). OMB must also take into consideration and seek to
maximize the direct and indirect jobs benefited or created in the
production of the construction material. Id.
Request for Information
Through this RFI, the Agencies are soliciting information and
suggestions from the public and a broad array of stakeholders across
public and private sectors that may be familiar with or interested in
manufacturing and assembly of EV chargers and their deployment as part
of Federal-aid construction projects.
Request To Specify EV Charger Type
In answering the questions below, the Agencies ask that you
indicate in your written comments which question(s) you are answering
and to specify in each answer what type of EV charger you are
discussing. For example, specify what level of charging is it used for,
whether it uses the SAE J1772 connector for AC charging (also known as
the J-plug), whether it provides DC Fast Charging, whether it uses the
Combined Charging System (CCS) connector, whether it uses the CHAdeMO
connector, and other relevant information.
General Questions on EV Chargers
1. Identify all EV charger manufacturers currently selling,
manufacturing, or operating in the United States, of which you are
aware.
2. Identify all such EV charger manufacturers of which you are
aware that can either meet FHWA's Buy America requirement or can
currently assemble EV chargers in the United States to meet a domestic
final assembly condition. For those that can meet a final assembly
condition, please identify the percentage of components manufactured in
the United States (if known).
3. What is the total cost of a typical EV charger?
4. How much does cost vary for EV chargers? Why does the cost vary?
5. What is the average delivery timeline for an EV charger?
6. How much does delivery time vary for EV chargers? Why does the
delivery time vary?
7. For manufacturers: What type(s) of EV chargers are currently
produced or likely to be produced in the near future?
Manufacturer Ability To Meet FHWA's Existing Buy America Requirement
8. Are there existing EV chargers that meet FHWA's existing Buy
America requirement for steel and iron? (Yes or No)
9. If you answered yes to the preceding question:
a. How many EV chargers meeting FHWA's existing Buy America
requirement for steel and iron can be manufactured per year?
b. What is the price typically paid for the steel and iron for used
in EV chargers?
c. What percent of the total price is typically representative cost
of the steel and iron used in EV chargers?
d. Can the origins of the steel and iron used in your charger by
certified by documentation? If so, how?
e. What is the typical delivery timeline for EV chargers?
10. For those EV chargers currently manufactured that cannot meet
FHWA's Buy America requirement, what steps can be taken to provide EV
chargers that meet FHWA's existing Buy America requirement? How long
might it take to undertake those steps? What is the volume of EV
chargers that could be shifted to manufacture in compliance with FHWA's
Buy America requirement? Can that volume be ramped up over time?
Manufacturer Ability To Meet Domestic Final Assembly Condition for EV
Chargers
11. Are there existing EV chargers that are currently assembled in
the United States that could meet a domestic final assembly condition?
(Yes or No).
12. If you answered yes to the preceding question, provide details
about domestic final assembly. Also explain whether this includes
domestic final assembly of all EV charger components and whether the
assembled EV charger is ready for installation and use.
13. If you answered yes to Question 12:
a. How many EV chargers assembled in the United States (meeting a
domestic final assembly condition) currently meet the domestic final
assembly requirement?
b. How many EV chargers assembled in the United States (meeting a
domestic final assembly condition) could be expected to be provided
annually each year between 2022 and 2030?
c. What would be the likely price of EV chargers meeting the
domestic final assembly requirement?
d. What is the likely timeline for delivery of those EV chargers?
e. What percentage of the components used in an EV charger
assembled in the United States are themselves made in the United
States? Of the components made in the United States, what percentage of
those are iron and steel as opposed to other parts?
EV Charger Components and Subcomponents
14. Identify each component and subcomponent typically contained in
an EV charger (or for manufacturers, in the EV chargers you produce).
15. What materials do the components and subcomponents consist of
(e.g., iron, steel, non-ferrous metals, semiconductors, plastics?
16. Provide information on the manufacturing processes for each
component and subcomponent, including where the manufacturing processes
occur.
17. Provide information on the assembly steps for each component or
subcomponent including where the assembly steps occur (if the answer
differs from the preceding question).
18. Provide information on the cost of each component or
subcomponent.
19. Provide information on the domestic content of each component
or subcomponent, including the amount and percentage of domestic
content (relative to foreign content). If this cannot be traced,
explain why.
Ability To Maximize Domestic Content, Services, and Labor
20. Provide information on how the domestic content of EV chargers
(including their components, subcomponents, or component bundles) could
be maximized (even if full Buy-America compliance is not possible).
21. Provide information on how domestic services and labor used in
the manufacturing and assembly of EV chargers (including their
components, subcomponents, or component bundles) could be maximized
(even if full Buy-America compliance is not possible).
Authority: 23 U.S.C. 313; Pub. L. 110-161; 23 CFR 635.410.
Polly Trottenberg,
Deputy Secretary, Department of Transportation.
Kelly J. Speakes-Backman,
Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary for Energy Efficiency and
Renewable Energy, Department of Energy.
[FR Doc. 2021-25717 Filed 11-23-21; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4910-22-P