SUN & THE U.S. BUDGET

Solar energy policy: Will US budget cuts leave solar in the cold?
Bob Moser, 12 August 2011 (CSP Today)

"…The Department of Energy will likely face budget cuts for the coming fiscal year…An initial draft from the House indicated big cuts to solar funding, prompting some in the industry to question whether CSP may lose crucial federal support before it fully finds its legs…

"…[In the] House Appropriations Committee…budget…DOE's solar program would receive US$176 million altogether, about US$100 million less than what it received for FY2011…[T]hat type of funding cut could seem ominous for CSP research in the US. But DOE and NREL sources…[say] the Congressional budgeting process is so far from complete that it is impossible to predict right now how the solar program will end up…"

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"The next step in the process would be for the Senate to present its own version of a 2012 budget with funding proposed for agencies like the DOE. Both bills would then have to be reconciled into one final piece of legislation…

"Within the DOE there has been no indication that the program's funding for CSP in particular would be cut…A lot of factors can determine why certain solar types may get more or less funding…Industry leaders say government contracts offer credibility to CSP programs and researchers with potential investors. While there is no evidence yet of cuts, specifically for CSP funding at research centers like NREL and Sandia National Laboratory, if passed they could have a chilling effect on the flow of private money for the sector…"