DOE-887(70) NREL H2A Survey

Department of Energy Washington, DC 20585

December 12, 2006

Ms. Sarah P. Garman

Department of Energy Desk Officer

Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs

Office of Management and Budget

Washington, DC 20503

SUBJECT: USE OF DOE-887(70) “DOE CUSTOMER SURVEYS” FOR A GENERIC CLEARANCE FOR THE DOE NATIONAL RENEWABLE ENERGY LAB USER FEEDBACK SURVEY FOR THE HYDROGEN ANALYSIS MODELING TOOLS ON THE DOE HYDROGEN PROGRAM WEB SITE.

Dear Ms. Garman:

The Hydrogen Analysis (H2A) group at the Department of Energy and its National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) plans to use the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) approved generic clearance, DOE-887, "DOE Customer Surveys" (OMB No. 1901-0302, expiring December 31, 2009) to survey users who have registered to download the H2A production modeling tools available online via http://www.hydrogen.energy.gov/h2a_analysis.html. As agreed to under the DOE-887 “DOE Customer Surveys” clearance, we will anticipate your approval within two weeks. However, without the proper authority, we will not conduct the survey. We will provide OMB with the results of this data collection when we submit the annual report of surveys conducted under the generic clearance.

The H2A group was organized to develop the building blocks and frameworks needed to conduct rigorous and consistent analysis of a wide range of hydrogen technologies. Established in FY 2003, the H2A effort aims to improve the transparency and consistency of analysis, improve the understanding of the differences among analyses, and seek better validation of analysis studies.

NREL developed the attached user survey in response to Executive Order 12862, "Setting Customer Service Standards." The purpose of the survey is to determine what is working well, what can be improved, and what recommendations users have. The respondents of this survey will consist of users who have registered to download the H2A production modeling tools. We recognize that the survey results won’t be representative of all users of the H2A production modeling tools, and the results will only reflect the opinions of those users who choose to participate.

The survey will be posted for about one month (January 22, 2007 through February 28, 2007) on the H2A Web site. The 140 users who have registered to download the modeling tools available on the site will be sent an email inviting them to participate in the online survey. Approximately 75 responses are expected.

The email text will include: “Our records indicate that you’ve registered to download the hydrogen analysis modeling tools on the DOE H2A Analysis Web site at http://www.hydrogen.energy.gov/h2a_production.html, and we’d like to know what you think. Please fill out the questionnaire at http://www.hydrogen.energy.gov/xxx.xxxx by January 30, 2007. Your feedback will help us enhance these tools and keep them up-to-date. Thanks!”

The intent of the survey is to obtain qualitative and quantitative information that will be useful for making improvements to NREL’s efforts to deliver high-quality products and services. Participation will be voluntary.

The attached survey will take approximately 15 minutes to answer and contains 12 questions. The burden for all the groups should not exceed 20 hours (~75 respondents x 15 minutes).

Julia Thomas is the point-of-contact for the survey and may be contacted at (303) 275-4474. Other questions should be directed to Kara Norman at (202) 287-1902.

Sincerely,

Nancy J. Kirkendall

Director

Statistics and Methods Group

Energy Information Administration

Enclosure A – H2A Modeling Tools Survey

This questionnaire on the DOE Hydrogen Program’s H2A production modeling tools will assist us in keeping these tools up-to-date. We would appreciate your feedback by January 30, 2007.

1. Please provide your name, email address, and affiliation. (text box)

2. How often have you used the H2A production modeling tools? (radio buttons)

• Weekly

• Monthly

• Only a few times

• Never

3. Which H2A production models have you used? (check boxes)

• Forecourt Production Modeling Tool

• Central Production Modeling Tool

• Central Hydrogen Production via Biomass Case Study

• Central Hydrogen Production from Coal with CO₂ Sequestration Case Study

• Central Hydrogen Production from Coal without CO₂ Sequestration Case Study

• Central Hydrogen Production from Natural Gas with CO₂ Sequestration Case Study

• Central Hydrogen Production from Natural Gas without CO₂ Sequestration Case Study

• Central Hydrogen Production from Wind Electrolysis without Co-Product Electricity Case Study

• Central Hydrogen Production from Wind Electrolysis with Co-Product Electricity Case Study

• Forecourt Hydrogen Production from Grid Electrolysis (100 kg/day) Case Study

• Forecourt Hydrogen Production from Grid Electrolysis (1,500 kg/day) Case Study

• Forecourt Hydrogen Production from Natural Gas (100 kg/day) Case Study

• Forecourt Hydrogen Production from Natural Gas (1,500 kg/day) Case Study

4. What was your purpose for using the H2A production model? (text box)

5. Have you investigated the H2A production model’s underlying assumptions or just provided typical user inputs? (text box)

6. Please rate the H2A production model’s ease of use. (radio buttons)

• Easy

• Moderate

• Difficult

7. Do the H2A production cases provide the right level of detail, sufficient documentation, appropriately detailed process flow diagrams, etc.? (text box)

8. What suggestions do you have for improving the model’s usability? (text box)

9. Do you think the H2A production model would benefit from a different user interface, perhaps a graphical user interface (GUI)? Please provide suggestions on your proposed interface layout. (text box)

10. What suggestions do you have for improving the H2A production model’s forecasting accuracy (including cost analysis forecasts, energy use, emissions forecasts, etc.)? (text box)

11. Would you suggest any changes to particular financial and/or technical assumptions? (text box)

12. Please provide any other feedback on the H2A production model. (text box)