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March 2, 2012
On March 2, 2012, the Environmental and Energy Study Institute (EESI) and the House Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency Caucus hosted a briefing on the President’s budget request for energy efficiency and renewable energy for FY 2013. As the administration and many Congressional leaders call for increased investments in clean technology to create jobs, improve national energy security, and ensure the United States remains competitive globally, federal agencies and the Congress also are looking for innovative ways to stretch and trim budgets in a tight fiscal environment. At this briefing, representatives from the Department of Energy (DOE) and the Congressional Research Service gave an overview of requested funding levels for various programs, the budget priorities and their justification, and provided context on how these requests compare to overall energy funding in previous years. Speakers for this event included:
Highlights From Speaker Presentations:
The President’s FY 2013 budget request for DOE overall would increase funding by 3.2 percent from 2012 enacted levels to $27.2 billion. The proposed budget increases funding for clean energy, research and development, and advanced manufacturing. The Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE) would receive $2.3 billion, up from $1.8 billion in FY 2012 appropriations. Within the EERE budget, Water Power would be cut 66 percent and the hydrogen Fuel Cell Technology program would be decreased by 23 percent from FY 2012 appropriations. All other renewable and energy efficiency programs would see an increase in budget over FY2012 appropriation levels, with the exception of the leveraged State Energy and Tribal programs. The budget also provides $350 million for the Advanced Research Projects Agency - Energy, an increase of 27 percent.
The Department of Defense and the Department of Interior also provide some funding for renewable energy and efficiency. However, the Department of Agriculture provides hardly any new funding for the Farm Bill energy title – a major change from prior years.