THE BUDGET AND NEW ENERGY

Budget Season Begins: Will Renewable Energy Get The Ax?
Jessica Lillian, 17 February 2011 (Solar Industry)

"President Obama's proposed fiscal-year 2012 budget reflects his administration's focus on promoting renewable energy, but these goals are at odds with those of the 112th U.S. Congress, which began work this year with intensive deficit-reduction weighing heavily on its collective mind.

"Obama has defended his [just released] budget…as capable of putting the U.S. on a fiscally sustainable path’ - while serving to advance solar energy and other forms of renewable energy. His proposal would increase the U.S. Department of Energy's (DOE) budget to $29.5 billion, an 11.8% increase over the level appropriated for fiscal-year 2010…[It includes] $5.9 billion to basic science and the Advanced Research Projects Agency - Energy (ARPA-E), $291 million to support ‘innovative and advanced’ energy technology credit programs, and $4.8 billion to energy supply and energy efficiency programs. A total of $300 million in credit subsidies would be made available to support approximately $3 billion to $4 billion in renewable energy and energy efficiency projects."

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[President Obama:] "We are eliminating subsidies to fossil fuels and instead making a significant investment in clean energy technology - boosting our investment in this high-growth field by a third - because the country that leads in clean energy will lead in the global economy…"

"Although the clean energy goal may garner widespread bipartisan support, the increases in spending…[and] cuts to the Fossil Energy Office - to the tune of 45%, or $418 million, - to pay for clean energy investment have already been met with resistance…[Insiders say] the best-case scenario [is] DOE's funding and allocations for renewable energy would be kept at their current levels…[and more likely] the agency will see decreased levels of funding…[in] budget negotiations over the next few months."

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"Meanwhile, the continuing resolution (CR) announced by the House Appropriations Committee is the first in U.S. history to contain spending reductions…[The DOE] loan-guarantee program, widely considered a crucial slice of the project-finance pie, would see its funding significantly reduced…by $25,000,000,000…Citing the job-creation benefits of solar project installation and the unfortunate timing of the proposed cuts, the Solar Energy Industries Association (SEIA) characterized the funding reduction as ‘disastrous.’

"…[T]he CR may pass the Republican-majority House, but…[insiders expect] its chances of becoming law - in its current form - are low, given the Democratic-majority Senate, public denouncements of the legislation from Sens. Harry Reid and Nancy Pelosi, and Obama's veto power…"