WASHINGTON – Today, U.S. Deputy Secretary of Energy Daniel Poneman detailed President Barack Obama’s $28.4 billion Fiscal Year 2014 budget request for the Energy Department. Poneman emphasized the President’s continued commitment to an all-of-the-above energy strategy that prioritizes investments in innovation, clean energy technologies, and national security. The Department’s budget request is part of the Administration-wide effort to strengthen the American economy with energy that is cleaner, cheaper and creates sustainable jobs. The FY 2014 budget request represents tough choices aimed at focusing taxpayer resources on areas that will yield the greatest benefit over time.
“The United States faces one of the greatest challenges ahead, the opportunity to lead the global clean energy race. We must continue to out-innovate, out-educate and out-build the rest of the world to meet this challenge,” said Deputy Secretary Poneman. “This budget reflects strong commitments to fiscal responsibility and shared sacrifice, while embracing the President’s all-of-the-above energy strategy which expands both oil and gas production and investments in new clean energy technologies, while advancing our national security.”
Specifically, the President’s FY 2014 budget request for the Department of Energy:
- Invests in innovative research to lead in research, development, deployment, and production of clean energy technologies;
- Establishes a new goal of doubling American energy productivity by 2030;
- Calls for Congress to establish an $2 billion Energy Security Trust;
- Creates a new Race to the Top for Energy Efficiency and Grid Modernization;
- Helps consumers and businesses save money and improve their energy efficiency through the President’s Better Buildings Initiative;
- Supports groundbreaking basic science research and innovation to solve our energy challenges and ensure the United States remains at the forefront of science and technology;
- Increases investments to maintain a safe, secure and effective nuclear weapons stockpile at levels consistent with planned reductions under the New Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty; and
- Strengthens national security by securing, removing, and detecting nuclear and radiological material worldwide.
Highlights in the FY 2014 budget include:
- $5 billion for the Office of Science for basic research to lay the foundation of innovation, long-term economic growth, and competitiveness;
- $615 million to increase use and decrease costs of clean power from solar, wind, geothermal, and water energy;
- $575 million for cutting-edge vehicle technologies research;
- $282 million in next generation of advanced biofuels research;
- $2 billion for a Energy Security Trust to transition our cars and trucks off of oil;
- $365 million in advanced manufacturing research and development to strengthen U.S. competiveness and enable companies to improve product quality and manufacturing processes while cutting production costs;
- Ends $4 billion of unwanted and unnecessary subsidies to the oil and gas industries;
- $16 million to enhance energy infrastructure security and energy recovery capabilities;
- $147 million in research and development of smart grid investments, cybersecurity for energy control systems, and National Electricity Delivery within the Office of Electricity Delivery and Energy Reliability; and
- $80 million for advanced technologies and tools that improve clean energy integration into the grid.
