Last week,
some questions were finally answered as
President
Barack Obama unveiled his first federal budget
proposal. With a tally of around
$3.6 trillion for the fiscal year (beginning October 1), you might wonder how
exactly this money will be spent.
For those of us focused on energy efficiency and onsite power, there’s
good news—$150 billion in funding has been set aside for “green” energy sources,
including distributed energy and efficiency programs. The budget is available online,
and below I’ve outlined some of the more relevant allocations:
* Invests over $50
million to promote renewable energy projects on Federal lands and
waters
* Begins to build a
new economy that is powered by clean and secure energy through funding provided
in the 2010 Budget and the $39 billion provided for energy programs in the
American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009
* Provides
significant increases in funding for basic research and world-leading scientific
user facilities to support transformational discoveries and accelerate solutions
to our Nation’s most pressing problems—including the
development of clean energy
* Supports economic
investment and positions the United States as the world leader in climate change
technology
* Accelerates the
transition to a low-carbon economy through increased support of the development
and deployment of clean energy technologies such as solar, biomass, geothermal,
wind, and low-carbon emission coal power
* Builds on the $11
billion provided in the Recovery Act for smart grid technologies, transmission
system expansion and upgrades, and other investments to modernize and enhance
the electric transmission infrastructure to improve energy efficiency and
reliability
* Supports and
encourages the early commercial deployment of innovative, clean energy
technologies through loan guarantees
* Provides over $20
billion in loans and grants to support and expand rural development activities,
including small businesses, renewable energy, and
telecommunications
Let us
know what you think—what is the most
important aspect of this proposed budget?
Are there any areas that you think deserve more or less attention? Any omissions?