Obama’s $28.4 Billion Budget for the DOE

The 2011 budget request is here. In short, there are big cuts in tax credits for oil and gas, a massive increase in funding for nuclear, and $625 million for R&D into clean technology areas like solar, wind, and advanced energy production. Paying for these increases through cap and trade is not part of the plan at the moment.

Here are the highlights, straight from the DOE:

• Eliminating more than $2.7 billion in tax subsidies for oil, coal and gas industries. This step is estimated to generate more than $38.8 billion dollars in revenue for the federal government over the course of the next 10 years.
• Terminating Ultra-Deepwater exploration program, saving $50 million.
• Canceling planned expansion of the Strategic Petroleum Reserve, saving $71 million.

Some additional highlights in the FY 2011 budget include:

• More than $217 million in new funding for science research and discovery, including an additional $40 million for the existing Energy Frontier Research Centers program and $107 million for Energy Innovation Hubs.
• $300 million for the Advanced Research Project Agency - Energy (ARPA-E);
• Lending authority to support approximately $40 billion in loan guarantees for innovative clean energy programs.
• More than $108 million in new funding to advance and expand research in the areas of wind, solar and geothermal energies.
• More than $550 million in new funding for NNSA's Defense Nuclear Nonproliferation program, which will accelerate the Department's efforts to implement President Obama's commitment to lead the international effort to secure vulnerable nuclear material around the world within four years.
• More than $624 million increase for the NNSA's weapons activities, helping maintain the safety, security and effectiveness of the nuclear deterrent without underground nuclear testing, renewing our investment in science, technology and engineering programs, and funding major long-term construction projects needed to restore critical capabilities in plutonium and uranium.