President Bush signed the America COMPETES Act Aug. 9 that may advance the government on cutting-edge renewable energy research, but it's unclear whether such an agency will receive any funding.
President Bush signed the America COMPETES Act Aug. 9 that may advance the government on cutting-edge renewable energy research, but it’s unclear whether such an agency will receive any funding
The Act includes a provision authorizing the creation of a new advanced energy research program through the U.S. Dept. of Energy (DOE) The bill authorizes as much as $300 million in fiscal 2008 for the Advanced Research Projects Agency-Energy (ARPA-E).
It is unclear whether Congress will approve spending the $300 million on ARPA-E, DOE said. The National Academies, which recommended ARPA-E’s creation in an October 2005 report, called for “creative, out-of-the-box, transformational, generic energy research in those areas where industry itself cannot or will not undertake such sponsorship, where risks and potential payoffs are high, and where success could provide dramatic benefits for the nation.” The National Academies recommended increasing funding to $1 billion over five years.
President Bush voiced concern over some aspects of the America COMPETES Act. “These are important steps forward, and so I’m going to sign the bill,” he said Aug. 9. “I’m looking forward to it. Yet the bill Congress sent to my desk leaves some of the key priorities unfulfilled, and authorizes unnecessary and duplicative programs.”
