[Federal Register Volume 66, Number 210 (Tuesday, October 30, 2001)]
[Notices]
[Pages 54762-54763]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 01-27232]


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DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY


Solicitation for Expressions of Interest; Low-Cost Prototype 
Inverters

AGENCY: Department of Energy.

ACTION: Notice of solicitation for participation in competition to 
create low-cost inverters.

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SUMMARY: The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), in partnership with the 
National Association of State Energy Officials (NASEO), the Institute 
of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE), and other sponsors 
announces an opportunity for qualified colleges and university 
engineering programs to submit proposals to compete for a cash prize in 
a contest to build prototype, low-cost inverters. The contest is titled 
the 2003 Future Energy Challenge. This competition is open to schools 
with ABET-accredited engineering programs or the equivalent.

DATES: The due date for receipt of application requirements is November 
30, 2001. Schools selected to compete in the 2001 Future Energy 
Challenge will be notified by January 1, 2002. The competition will be 
scheduled for the 2002 calendar year. Awards will be presented during 
Engineers Week in February 2003.

ADDRESSES: Additional information on this competition and application 
requirements are posted at http://www.energychallenge.org. The 
application requirements package will also provide information on how 
you might qualify for seed money from other sponsors. (Note: The agency 
or organization providing the seed money will solicit and evaluate the 
application requirements for seed funding, not DOE.)

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The 2003 Future Energy Challenge seeks to 
dramatically improve the design and reduce the cost of DC-AC inverters 
and interface systems for use in distributed generation systems. DOE is 
joining with NASEO, and possibly others, to sponsor this competition 
with the goal of making these interface systems practical and cost 
effective. The objectives are to design elegant, manufacturable systems 
that would reduce the costs of commercial interface systems to $40 per 
kilowatt or less and, thereby, accelerate the deployment of distributed 
generation systems in homes and buildings. Schools with the capability 
to undertake the challenging task of designing complete systems or 
modifying commercial inverters to achieve design and manufacturability 
improvements that lead to achievement of the target cost reductions or 
better are invited to submit proposals to DOE to compete. A full 
prototype is sought that leads to a comprehensive hardware system. 
Schools should plan to form multi-disciplinary teams to address the 
energy source characteristics, design the power electronics, design 
packaging and thermal management systems, develop filtering and other 
interface sub-systems, analyze process costs and manufacturability, and 
perform economic and life-cycle cost analyses. The hardware prototypes 
judged as best will be tested by fuel cell

[[Page 54763]]

manufacturers, at DOE's National Energy Technology Center as interfaces 
for a fuel cell source. The school with the most cost-effective, fully 
functional design that can meet the aggressive cost target will win a 
prize of at least $50,000. Proposals will be judged by a distinguished 
panel of experts from the IEEE.

    Issued in Washington, DC, on October 24, 2001.
Robert S. Kripowicz,
Acting Assistant Secretary for Fossil Energy.
[FR Doc. 01-27232 Filed 10-29-01; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6450-01-P