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Federal Register / Vol. 86, No. 31 / Thursday, February 18, 2021 / Notices
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 DOEs 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.
Case Number 2020010

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Interim Waiver Order I. Background and Authority The Energy Policy and Conservation Act, as amended EPCA,2 authorizes the U.S. Department of Energy DOE
to regulate the energy efficiency of a number of consumer products and certain industrial equipment 42 U.S.C.
62916317. Title III, Part C 3 of EPCA
42 U.S.C. 63116316, as codified, added by the National Energy Conservation Policy Act, Public Law 95619, sec. 441 Nov. 9, 1978, established the Energy Conservation Program for Certain Industrial Equipment, which sets forth a variety of provisions designed to improve the energy efficiency for certain types of industrial equipment. Through amendments brought about by the Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007, Public Law 110140, sec. 312
Dec. 19, 2007, this equipment includes walk-in cooler and walk-in freezer collectively, walk-in refrigeration systems, the focus of this document 42
U.S.C. 63111G.
The energy conservation program under EPCA consists essentially of four parts: 1 Testing, 2 labeling, 3
Federal energy conservation standards, and 4 certification and enforcement procedures. Relevant provisions of EPCA include definitions 42 U.S.C.
6311, energy conservation standards 42 U.S.C. 6313, test procedures 42
U.S.C. 6314, labeling provisions 42
U.S.C. 6315, and the authority to require information and reports from manufacturers 42 U.S.C. 6316.
The Federal testing requirements consist of test procedures that manufacturers of covered equipment must use as the basis for: 1 Certifying to DOE that their equipment complies with the applicable energy conservation standards adopted pursuant to EPCA 42
U.S.C. 6316a; 42 U.S.C. 6295s, and 2 making representations about the 2 All references to EPCA in this document refer to the statute as amended through Americas Water Infrastructure Act of 2018, Public Law 115270
Oct. 23, 2018.
3 For editorial reasons, upon codification in the U.S. Code, Part C was redesignated as Part A1.

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efficiency of that equipment 42 U.S.C.
6314d. Similarly, DOE must use these test procedures to determine whether the covered equipment complies with relevant standards promulgated under EPCA. 42 U.S.C. 6316a; 42 U.S.C.
6295s Under 42 U.S.C. 6314, EPCA sets forth the criteria and procedures DOE is required to follow when prescribing or amending test procedures for covered equipment. EPCA requires that any test procedures prescribed or amended under this section must be reasonably designed to produce test results which reflect the energy efficiency, energy use or estimated annual operating cost of covered equipment during a representative average use cycle and requires that test procedures not be unduly burdensome to conduct 42
U.S.C. 6314a2. The test procedure for walk-in refrigeration systems is contained in the Code of Federal Regulations CFR at 10 CFR part 431, subpart R, appendix C, Uniform Test Method for the Measurement of Net Capacity and AWEF of Walk-In Cooler and Walk-In Freezer Refrigeration Systems Appendix C.
Under 10 CFR 431.401, any interested person may submit a petition for waiver from DOEs test procedure requirements. DOE will grant a waiver from the test procedure requirements if DOE determines either that the basic model for which the waiver was requested contains a design characteristic that prevents testing of the basic model according to the prescribed test procedures, or that the prescribed test procedures evaluate the basic model in a manner so unrepresentative of its true energy consumption characteristics as to provide materially inaccurate comparative data. 10 CFR 431.401f2.
A petitioner must include in its petition any alternate test procedures known to the petitioner to evaluate the performance of the equipment type in a manner representative of the energy consumption characteristics of the basic model. 10 CFR 431.401b1iii. DOE
may grant the waiver subject to conditions, including adherence to alternate test procedures specified by DOE. 10 CFR 431.401f2.
As soon as practicable after the granting of any waiver, DOE will publish in the Federal Register a notice of proposed rulemaking to amend its regulations so as to eliminate any need for the continuation of such waiver. 10
CFR 431.401l. As soon thereafter as practicable, DOE will publish in the Federal Register a final rule to that effect. Id.
The waiver process also provides that DOE may grant an interim waiver if it
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appears likely that the underlying petition for waiver will be granted and/
or if DOE determines that it would be desirable for public policy reasons to grant immediate relief pending a determination on the underlying petition for waiver. 10 CFR
431.401e2. Within one year of issuance of an interim waiver, DOE will either: i Publish in the Federal Register a determination on the petition for waiver; or ii publish in the Federal Register a new or amended test procedure that addresses the issues presented in the waiver. 10 CFR
431.401h1.
When DOE amends the test procedure to address the issues presented in a waiver, the waiver will automatically terminate on the date on which use of that test procedure is required to demonstrate compliance. 10 CFR
431.401h2.
II. Hussmanns Petition for Waiver and Interim Waiver On July 16, 2020, Hussmann filed a petition for waiver and interim waiver from the test procedure for walk-in refrigeration systems set forth at 10 CFR
part 431, subpart R, appendix C
Hussmann, No. 1 at p. 1 4. Hussmann also included Appendix I to their petition with clarifications and responses to two questions posed to Hussmann by DOE regarding their CO2
direct expansion unit cooler subject basic models Hussmann, No. 1 at p. 78. Hussmann claims that the test conditions described in Table 15 and Table 16 of the Air-Conditioning, Heating, and Refrigeration Institute AHRI Standard 12502009, Standard for Performance Rating of Walk-In Coolers and Freezers AHRI
12502009 for walk-in refrigerator unit coolers and freezer unit coolers tested alone, respectively, as incorporated by Appendix C with modification, cannot be achieved by the specified basic models and are not consistent with operation of Hussmanns CO2 direct expansion unit coolers. Hussmann stated that CO2 has a critical temperature of 87.8 F 5, and 4 A notation in the form Hussmann, No.1
identifies a written submission: 1 Made by Hussmann; and 2 recorded in document number 1 that is filed in the docket of this petition for waiver Docket No. EERE2020BTWAV0026
and available at http www.regulations.gov/
docket?D=EERE-2020-BT-WAV-0026.
5 The test procedure specifies the unit cooler refrigerant inlet condition in terms of a saturation temperature the temperature at which it completes the condensation process in a condenser and the subcooling temperature additional reduction in temperature lower than the specified saturation temperature. For CO2, the critical temperature above which there cannot exist separate liquid and gas phases is below the saturation condition
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