DOE requests $2.3 billion for efficiency, renewable energy

The FY 2010 budget will expand the use of renewable energy sources and improve the energy transmission structure.

By Source: Dept. of Energy May 13, 2009

President Barack Obama unveiled last week a $26.4 billion budget request for Dept. of Energy 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-in hybrids, 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.

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 on the DOE budget and performance Web page.