Changing Priorities in Energy Research: Cleantech and Renewables Get a Boost in the 2010 Budget
Congressional debate in recent weeks has focused on the Waxman-Markey American Clean Energy and Security Act and the significant cleantech provisions contained within it (covered on ClimateIntel here). The release of the President’s FY2010 budget shows that the Obama Administration is also focused on commercializing promising cleantech and renewable technologies. Spearheading this effort is the Department of Energy, which released its 2010 budget request on May 7th. The $26.4 billion request, combined with the $38.7 billion the Department received in the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (the stimulus bill), gives the DOE a considerable amount of money—and therefore considerable influence—on the future of cleantech research. What is notable about the 2010 budget is not the size of the budget—the 2010 request is actually over 20% lower than the 2009 appropriation—but how the budget restructures and refocuses programs within the agency to create new R&D priorities.
Focusing on Renewable Energy, Energy Efficiency
DOE also makes significant changes to the funding of renewable energy projects, increasing the funds available to solar, wind and geothermal research by 83%, 36% and 14%, respectively. These funds will go toward developing “less expensive, more efficient and highly reliable” solar photovoltaic systems, developing concentrated solar technologies “that can compete on the baseload power market,” “accelerat[ing] the market penetration of wind energy,” and advancing the development of geothermal power “as a major contributor to baseload electricity generation.” In the vehicle and building technologies programs, extra funds are targeted toward “facilitating cost effective PHEVs [Plug-In Electric Hybrid Vehicles]” and “enab[ling] production of Net-Zero Energy Homes and Buildings.” (See pages 24-26 of the summary budget document for more.)
Another program, the Office of Electricity Delivery and Energy Reliability, receives significant funding increases—an increase of 52% over 2009—to support smart grid investment, as does the building and vehicle technologies programs.
Cleaner Traditional Fuels
Programs designed to promote cleaner use of traditional fuels also see a boost in the 2010 budget. The fossil fuel and nuclear programs are cut, while funding for both carbon capture and storage and advanced nuclear fuel cycles is increased. (The fossil energy program’s budget begins on page 57 of the summary document; nuclear energy on page 54.)
In contrast to the renewable programs, which have stated goals of improving the market penetration of mature, or nearly mature, technologies, the fossil and nuclear programs shift their focus toward long-term research. The budget even “zeroes out” a program, known as Nuclear Power 2010, which helped the nuclear industry with siting and licensing of new plants.
Hydrogen Cars Left Behind
In his presentation outlining the budget, Secretary Chu notes that some programs would be cut to focus on those “with more immediate promise.” For example, the hydrogen technologies program is seeing both a significant funding cut and a major refocusing. Previously devoted to the development of fuel cells for use in hydrogen powered cars, the program will be renamed the Fuel Cell Technologies program and will focus primarily on the development of “technology neutral fuel cell systems” for use in stationary and portable power generation applications. The program’s scope will also expand from hydrogen-powered cells alone to include polymer-electrolyte and other alternative fuel cell technologies. In explaining the switch, Secretary Chu stated “We asked ourselves, ‘Is it likely in the next 10 or 15, 20 years that we will covert to a hydrogen car economy?’ The answer, we felt, was ‘no.’” That statement, along with the change in funding, has created considerable controversy among hydrogen vehicle advocates.
New Tools to Focus Innovation
The DOE budget request also funds innovation in energy technology. First among these is its creation of eight new “Energy Innovation Hubs” within the department. The hubs, which Secretary Chu has touted as a “modern version of Bell Labs in energy research“—referring to the famous laboratories where the transistor and laser were developed—will focus on different facets of “the Nation’s ability to become energy secure and economically strong while greenhouse gas emissions.” These Hubs will focus on a number of critical cleantech research areas, including solar electricity and “third generation” solar technology, batteries and energy storage, carbon capture and sequestration, new materials and systems to support grid modernization and building energy efficiency.
These innovation hubs complement the first ever funding of the Advanced Research Projects Agency - Energy (ARPA-E) in a departmental budget. (ARPA-E received $0.4 billion in funding from the stimulus bill). Created in 2007, ARPA-E will focus on directing funding to “the best minds in the country, wherever they might be,” with a goal of developing transformational technologies—those with “the potential to become the next generation of revolutionary energy systems and products, which will make a major impact on our twin problems of energy security and climate change.” ARPA-E was modeled after the Defense Advanced Projects Research Agency (DARPA), which had a hand in developing a number of crucial defense technologies, as well as more broadly applicable items, such as the internet. ARPA-E has already begun to solicit applications for funding, searching for those potentially transformative new cleantech ideas.
Taking all of these factors into account, the 2010 DOE budget request shows a decisive shift toward more quickly deployable technologies—especially in renewable energy, demand management and grid modernization. While there are may be individual companies and technologies that will see problems or gaps in the Administration’s approach, the budget request shows that federal support for the cleantech industry will not end with the stimulus bill.