It’s early days for the Biden-Harris Administration’s proposed 2023 fiscal year (FY) budget. But at least one environmental lobbying group was happy with the suggested increases in the Department of Energy (DOE) spending on R&D to develop clean energy alternatives; transition to the U.S. electrical grid to more renewable energy sources; and provide additional federal dollars to help communities, schools and businesses build or retrofit more energy-efficient buildings. In total, the DOE’s FY 2023 Budget Request is $48.2 billion, up 15% from 2021 levels.
The Biden-Harris Administration’s 2023 budget proposal for the DOE includes funding for several programs for energy-efficient retrofits that would support demand for LED lighting and controls, drives, motors, building automation systems and other energy-efficient products. It would also help electric utilities build out a more secure U.S. electrical grid that provides power from additional utility-scale renewable sources, including land-based solar and wind farms and offshore wind projects.
The proposed budget is asking for $9.2 billion for DOE clean energy research, development and demonstration, an increase of more than +33% from the 2021 enacted level. “These investments strengthen clean energy-enabling transmission and distribution systems, decarbonize transportation, advance carbon management technologies, improve energy efficiency in industry and buildings and secure the availability of high-assay low-enriched uranium,” according to the Biden Administration proposal. “Funding would also leverage the tremendous innovation capacity of the national laboratories, universities and entrepreneurs to transform America’s power, transportation, buildings and industrial sectors to achieve a net-zero emissions economy by 2050.”
The American Clean Power Association (ACP) said in a press statement that it applauds the Biden administration’s budget request for an additional $9 billion in funding for clean power projects and the energy grid — a 33% increase over the 2022 fiscal year — in order to accelerate the transition toward a clean energy future.
ACP’s CEO Heather Zichal said in that release, “We are pleased that the Biden Administration’s proposed budget invests in America’s domestic energy security while — at the same time — focusing on reaching our country’s emissions goals. Increased investment in clean energy, as indicated in the proposed budget, will create hundreds of thousands of American jobs over the next decade and will bring more reliable and resilient clean energy to millions of Americans. This budget is also a step in the right direction toward building out our U.S. clean energy manufacturing capacity, another plus for the economy and the environment.”
ACP said much of this budget would be allocated toward expanding federally funded research and ensuring security of the domestic energy supply by strengthening supply chains.
U.S. Secretary of Energy Jennifer M. Granholm said in a DOE release that as the United States transition to clean energy, “The investments reflected in this latest budget will cut costs for Americans and secure our energy independence on our path towards a net-zero future.”