DOE FY 2011 Budget Request for Energy Research, Development, Demonstration, and Deployment: Analysis and Recommendations

In spite of the difficult fiscal situation, President Obama's FY 2011 budget request for energy research, development, and demonstration (RD&D) would increase funding for applied energy RD&D programs by 7 percent over the FY 2010 appropriation, to $3.9 billion. Most of the increase in the applied programs comes from the $300 million that would be allocated to ARPA-E. Funding for basic energy science research would increase by 12 percent, to $1.8 billion. Combining one-third of the funds provided by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA) for basic energy sciences, energy RD&D programs, biological and environmental research, and energy technology deployment—roughly the amount expected to be spent during FY 2011—the FY 2011 request would result in total investments of over $17 billion, which exceeds President Obama's campaign promise to invest $15 billion a year for energy technology innovation. Once the ARRA funds are spent, however, it is unclear how current levels of investment in energy technology innovation will be maintained.