White House focuses on clean energy in 2017 budget request
WASHINGTON,
Feb. 10, 2016 - The White House wants to double clean energy research funding
and increase investments across renewable sources, advanced transportation,
nuclear energy, carbon capture and storage, and advanced manufacturing.
Energy
Secretary Ernest Moniz said the President’s fiscal year (FY) 2017 budget reaffirms
President Obama’s commitment to Mission
Innovation, an agreement made by the United States and 19 other countries to
double clean energy R&D over five years. The request puts forward $5.85
billion in discretionary funding for clean energy R&D at DOE, a 21 percent
increase from FY 2016, including increases for DOE’s innovation incubator
ARPA-E (Advanced Research Projects Agency-Energy) and the creation of new
regional partnerships designed to drive breakthroughs at research universities,
labs, and companies across America.
“The
President’s budget request would accelerate American energy innovation,
increase our energy and national security, and expand our commitment to science
and research,” said Secretary Moniz. “It also reflects DOE’s continuing
commitment to maintain our nuclear deterrent, secure vulnerable nuclear
material, and clean up our Cold War legacy.”
Overall,
the FY
2017 budget request for DOE represents a 10 percent increase above the FY
2016 enacted level. As part of the United States’ commitment to Mission
Innovation, the U.S. government will seek to double the $6.4 billion that
Congress provided in FY 2016 for clean energy R&D to $12.8 billion in FY
2021. The FY 2017 budget makes good on this commitment by proposing $7.7
billion in discretionary funding for clean energy R&D across 12 agencies,
an increase of about 20 percent. DOE’s proposed FY 2017 clean energy R&D
budget of $5.85 billion represents 76 percent of Mission Innovation
investments.
The budget also proposes the creation of the ARPA-E Trust,
which creates the needed funding stream to allow ARPA-E to expand its scope to
address larger scale, more complex energy challenges. The proposed trust would
provide $150 million in FY 2017 and a total of $1.85 billion over five years to
ARPA-E, increasing ARPA-E’s total budget by 70 percent from $291 million to
$500 million.
To complement a national R&D effort, the budget also
proposes new “Regional Clean Energy Innovation Partnerships,” creating up to 10
centers that will engage universities, industries, investors, labs and others
to work toward technology-neutral clean energy breakthroughs that support
regional needs.
The budget request also includes $12.9 billion for the
nuclear security program managed by the National Nuclear Security
Administration, $357 million over the 2016 enacted level, that will support
implementation and monitoring of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action with
Iran to prevent that country from building a nuclear weapon, along with DOE’s
core activities of maintaining a safe and secure nuclear deterrent and
preventing the proliferation of nuclear material.
Other highlights of
the FY 2017 budget include:
- $6.1
billion for Environmental Management to address the obligation to clean up
the nuclear legacy of the Cold War, including $271 million to maintain
critical progress toward returning the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant to
normal operations, with the goal of restarting limited operations in 2016.
- $5.67
billion for Science to continue to lead basic research in the physical
sciences and develop and operate cutting-edge scientific user facilities
while strengthening the connection between advances in fundamental science
and technology innovation.
- $2.89
billion, an increase of 40 percent, for Energy Efficiency and Renewable
Energy to continue a diverse suite of sustained investment in development
of renewable generation technologies, sustainable transportation
technologies, and manufacturing technologies; and in efforts to enhance
energy efficiency in our homes, buildings and industries.
- $1.3
billion for 21st Century Clean Transportation to expand investment in
transportation technologies of the future, establish regional fueling
infrastructure to support the deployment of low-carbon fuels, and
accelerate the transition to a cleaner vehicle fleet.
- $994
million for Nuclear Energy to support vital ongoing R&D in advanced
reactor technology as part of a low-carbon future.
- $600
million for DOE’s Fossil Energy program to advance carbon capture and
storage and natural gas technologies, and $257 million for the Strategic
Petroleum Reserve to increase the system’s durability and reliability and
begin addressing the backlog of deferred maintenance.
- $262
million for Electricity Delivery and Energy Reliability grid modernization
activities to support a smart, resilient electric grid for the 21st
century and fund critical emergency response and grid security
capabilities.
- $8.4
million for the Office of Technology Transitions to help get technologies
out of National Laboratories and to the market
·
For full FY17 budget request materials, click here.
·
For the Department's FY17 budget request fact
sheet, click here.
·
For the White House's Mission Innovation fact
sheet, click here.
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