Obama proposes $772m investment into renewable energy programmes in 2011 budget

2 February 2010

US President Barack Obama’s $28.4bn fiscal year 2011 budget request for the Department of Energy (DOE) highlights the push for the development of a US clean energy economy, with investment in advanced science, research and innovation.

The administration aims to improve energy efficiency to help curb greenhouse gas emissions that contribute to climate change, said the DOE. The fiscal year 2011 budget request also places an emphasis on DOE improving fiscal performance with the proposed creation of a new initiative on management reform.

The budget proposes investing more than $217m in new funding for science research and discovery, including an additional $40m for the existing Energy Frontier research centres programme and $107m for Energy Innovation Hubs. Other large investment proposals include injecting $300m into an Advanced Research Project Agency, supporting approximately $40bn in loan guarantees for innovative clean energy programmes and putting more than $108m of new funding towards wind, solar and geothermal energy research.

‘The President’s budget cuts wasteful spending while making wise investments in innovation and clean energy that will put Americans back to work, save families money and keep our nation competitive in the global marketplace,’ said US Energy Secretary Steven Chu. ‘This budget supports new approaches to energy research and invests in the next generation of scientists and engineers, and it will spark new clean energy projects nationwide, including restarting the American nuclear power industry.’

The DOE said the President’s fiscal year 2011 budget request for the DOE maintains effective nuclear deterrence while working to secure all vulnerable nuclear materials around the world within four years and engages in cross-disciplinary scientific approaches to our energy and national priorities. The Department also said the request expands the use of renewable energy sources and supports the administration’s goal to develop a smart electricity grid.

The request also promotes innovation in the renewable and nuclear energy sectors through the use of expanded loan guarantee authority and advances responsible environmental management by cleaning up hazardous, radioactive legacy waste from the Manhattan Project and the Cold War, said the DOE.

The budget programme proposes eliminating more than $2.7bn in tax subsidies for oil, coal and gas industries, which is estimated to generate more than $38.8bn dollars in revenue for the federal government over the next ten years. It also proposes terminating an ultra-deepwater exploration programme to save $50m and cancelling expansion of the Strategic Petroleum Reserve.

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Tags: clean energy

This story was published on Tuesday, February 2nd, 2010 at 4:28 pm and is filed under North America, energy efficiency, policy. You can follow any responses to article entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

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