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DOE Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy FY 2008 Budget:
Geothermal, Hydropower Zeroed Out; Many Energy Efficiency Programs Cut
WASHINGTON –
Carol Werner, Executive Director of the Environmental and
Energy Study Institute (EESI), issued
the following
statement on the release of the president’s FY 08 budget for
the U.S. Department of Energy:
In
signing the Energy Policy Act of 2005 (EPACT, P.L. 109-58) on
August 8, 2005, President Bush said EPACT “is strengthening
America's electrical infrastructure, reducing the country's
dependence on foreign sources of energy, increasing
conservation, and expanding the use of clean renewable
energy.” In his
January 23 State of the Union address, President Bush said
“It's in our vital interest to diversify America's energy
supply -- the way forward is through technology. We must
continue changing the way America generates electric power...
America is on the verge of technological breakthroughs
that will enable us to live our lives less dependent on oil.
And these technologies will help us be better stewards of the
environment, and they will help us to confront the serious
challenge of global climate change.”
The
funding priorities reflected in the President’s FY 08 budget
appear in conflict with these goals of energy independence,
renewable energy development, energy conservation, and
environmental improvement.
The President’s budget is not consistent—given the
volume of voices and concerns about energy security, the huge
bills residential and business consumers face, loss of
economic competitiveness, environmental degradation, and
rising greenhouse gas emissions—with his stated goals.
The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Energy Efficiency
and Renewable Energy (EE/RE) program should play a critical
role in reducing energy import dependence while protecting the
environment by developing and promoting energy efficiency and
renewable energy technologies.
The President's FY 08 budget request for DOE’s EE/RE
programs is $1.24
billion (five percent of the DOE budget)—essentially
flat with FY 06 appropriations and flat with FY 05
appropriations. At
the same time, nuclear energy received a 324.4
million increase (59%
increase from FY 06 appropriations). Although there are
significant increases for solar PV, biomass and hydrogen, the
flat funding for DOE’s energy efficiency and renewable
energy technology investments masks several cuts in effective
energy efficiency programs and zeroes out investments in
geothermal and hydropower technology.
The
President’s FY 08 budget request includes:
·
Zeroing
out
the Geothermal Program (cut
from $22.8 million in FY 06)
·
Zeroing
out
the Hydropower Program (cut
from $0.5 million in FY 06)
·
$98.5
million cut
in Weatherization Assistance (41%
cut from FY 06 appropriations)
·
$9.9
million cut
in Industrial Technologies (18%
cut from FY 06 appropriations)
·
$1.0
million cut
in Tribal Energy Activities (25%
cut from FY 06 appropriations)
·
$22.6
million increase
in Hybrid Electric Systems (39%
increase from FY 06 appropriations)
·
$9.9
million increase
in State Energy Program Grants (28%
increase from FY 06 appropriations)
·
$3.1
million
increase in Clean Cities (47%
increase from FY 06 appropriations)
·
$3.1
million increase
in program direction (3%
increase from FY 08 appropriations)
·
$7.5
million
for the Asia-Pacific Partnership, one of the President’s
priorities for addressing climate change
In
addition to these features of the EE/RE budget, the DOE Office
of Electric Delivery and Energy Reliability Budget was cut
$43.2 million (27%
cut from FY 06 appropriations).
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DOE
Energy Budget:
FY 2007-08 Budget Request, FY 2006 Appropriation
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|
Energy
(dollars
in thousands)
|
FY
2006 Appropriation
|
FY
2007 Budget Request
|
FY
2008 Budget Request
|
|
Nuclear
Energy
|
550,226
|
632,698
|
874,649
|
|
Fossil
Energy
|
829,814
|
648,876
|
863,036
|
|
Energy
Efficiency and Renewable Energy
|
1,162,747
|
1,176,421
|
1,236,199
|
|
Electric
Delivery and Energy Reliability
|
158,178
|
124,928
|
114,937
|
|
Total
|
2,700,965
|
2,582,923
|
3,088,821
|
The
table below compares the President’s FY 07 and FY 08
budget requests to FY 06 appropriations for DOE’s Office
of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy.
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DOE
Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy Budget:
FY 2007-08 Budget Request, FY 2006 Appropriation
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Energy
Supply and Conservation
(dollars in thousands)
|
FY
2006 Appropriation
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FY
2007 Budget Request
|
FY
2008 Budget Request
|
|
Biomass
and Biorefinery Systems R&D
|
89,776
|
149,687
|
179,263
|
|
Geothermal
Technology
|
22,762
|
0
|
0
|
|
Hydrogen
Technology
|
153,451
|
195,801
|
213,000
|
|
Hydropower
|
495
|
0
|
0
|
|
Solar
Energy
|
81,791
|
148,372
|
148,304
|
|
Wind
Energy
|
38,333
|
43,819
|
40,069
|
|
Facilities
and Infrastructure
|
26,052
|
5,935
|
6,982
|
|
Program
Support (RE)
|
13,321
|
10,930
|
13,281
|
|
Building
Technologies
|
68,190
|
77,329
|
86,456
|
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Federal
Energy Management Program
|
18,974
|
16,906
|
16,791
|
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Industrial
Technologies
|
55,856
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45,563
|
45,998
|
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Vehicle
Technologies
|
178,351
|
166,024
|
176,138
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Weatherization
Assistance Program Grants
|
242,550
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164,198
|
144,000
|
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State
Energy Program Grants
|
35,640
|
49,457
|
45,501
|
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State
Energy Activities
|
495
|
0
|
0
|
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Gateway
Deployment *
|
25,400
|
0
|
0
|
|
International
Renewable Energy Program
|
3,871
|
2,473
|
0
|
|
Tribal
Energy Activities
|
3,960
|
3,957
|
2,957
|
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Renewable
Energy Production Incentive
|
4,950
|
4,946
|
4,946
|
|
Asia
Pacific Partnership
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0
|
0
|
7,500
|
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Program
Direction (EE)
|
101,868
|
91,024
|
105,013
|
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Adjustments
|
-3,339
|
0
|
0
|
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Total,
Energy Supply and Conservation
|
1,162,747
|
1,176,421
|
1,236,199
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*The Clean Cities Program has been renamed Vehicle
Technologies Deployment and moved to Vehicle Technologies.
It is funded at $9.6 million for FY 08.
###
The
Environmental and Energy Study Institute (EESI) is a
non-profit organization that works at the nexus of policy and
innovation to promote environmentally sustainable societies.
EESI was founded in 1984 by a bipartisan group of
Congressional Members dedicated to finding environmental and
energy solutions. EESI provides credible, timely
information and innovative policy ideas through coalition
building, media outreach, publications, briefings, workshops
and task forces on the issues of energy efficiency and
renewable energy, transportation, smart growth, agriculture
and global climate change. Carol Werner leads the EESI
team as executive director.
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