- DOE Requests $2.3B for Efficiency, Renewable Energy in FY 2010
- Interior, Ag Departments Propose More Renewable Energy Funding
- DOE to Invest $33.5M in Wind Energy Projects
- DOE, HUD Sign Agreement to Streamline Weatherization Process
- DOT Awards $742.5M in Recovery Act Funds to 11 Transit Projects
- Maryland Aims for 25% Cut in GHG by 2020
- Expectations Dim for Near-Term Growth in Oil Demand
DOE Requests $2.3 Billion for Efficiency, Renewable Energy in FY 2010
President Obama unveiled last week a $26.4 billion budget request for DOE for fiscal year (FY) 2010, including $2.3 billion for the DOE Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE). The budget aims to substantially expand the use of renewable energy sources while improving energy transmission infrastructure. It also makes significant investments in hybrids and plug-ins, in smart grid technologies, and in scientific research and innovation. The budget request for EERE represents a 6.4% increase above the appropriations for FY 2009, not counting funds provided through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA).
The president's budget includes significant increases for a number of EERE programs, including an 82.9% increase for solar energy, a 36.4% increase for wind energy, a 22% increase for vehicle technologies, a 69.8% increase for building technologies, and a 46.7% increase for the Federal Energy Management Program.
The budget also requests a near doubling in funding for program direction, in part to support "unprecedented project management and oversight" associated with the Recovery Act. The budget also includes a more than five-fold increase in funding for program support (to $101.8 million), primarily to support analysis and commercialization efforts. The President's budget generally represents a starting point for the Congressional appropriation process. See the DOE press release and text pages 24-31 (PDF pages 30-37) of the DOE Budget Highlights (PDF 1.0 MB) on the DOE budget and performance Web page.
The proposed DOE budget also includes $280 million to fund eight multi-disciplinary Energy Innovation Hubs, each of which is focused on a particular energy challenge. The hubs are meant to advance highly promising areas of energy science and technology from their early stages of research to the point that the risk level will be low enough for industry to commercialize the technologies.
Two of the eight hubs are included in the EERE budget and will focus on integrating smart materials, designs, and systems into buildings to better conserve energy and on designing and discovering new concepts and materials needed to convert solar energy into electricity. Another two hubs, included in the DOE Office of Science budget, will tackle the challenges of devising advanced methods of energy storage and creating fuels directly from sunlight without the use of plants or microbes. Yet another hub will develop "smart" materials that will allow the electrical grid to adapt and respond to changing conditions, while the remaining three hubs will address challenges related to nuclear energy and carbon capture and storage. See text pages 1-2 and 6-7 (PDF pages 7-8 and 12-13) of the DOE Budget Highlights document.
Interior and Ag Departments Propose More Renewable Energy Funding
The U.S. Departments of Interior and Agriculture are proposing to boost funding for renewable energy programs in their budget requests for fiscal year (FY) 2010. The Interior Department is proposing $50.1 million for a new Clean Energy Future Initiative, which will facilitate responsible renewable energy development on public lands managed by the department and in offshore areas on the Outer Continental Shelf (OCS).
The initiative will focus on areas with the highest potential for renewable energy development, including areas with significant wind, solar, geothermal, and biomass energy resources. The funds will spur renewable energy projects, facilitate the siting of new transmission facilities, assess renewable energy resources, and ensure adequate environmental protections. As part of the initiative, the Minerals Management Service would receive an increase of $24 million for the development of a robust renewable energy leasing program on the OCS, while the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) would receive an increase of $16.1 million for permitting and leasing activities related to renewable energy projects and for the planning efforts, environmental assessments, and analyses needed to develop new transmission facilities.
