DOE releases FY2011 Budget Request

The Department of Energy released their budget request for fiscal year 2011 today. While the Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy's budget is slated for a slight increase, the Industrial Technologies Program's budget request is the same as 2010's request - $100 million (although the actual 2010 budget as passed by Congress was only $96 million).

We are disappointed that the request is not higher. ACEEE recommends that the ITP budget should be $150 million, closer to the funding a decade ago.

However, we are also surprised (and still disappointed) at how the funds are apportioned. While funding for most cross-cutting research, CHP, and technology deployment is slightly up (from $84 in 2010 to $87 million in 2011), the Industrial Assessment Center program is still being run at the unsustainable level of $4 million, roughly unchanged in the past 5 years (except for a small amount of stimulus funds). The IAC's need closer to $8 million to properly run all 26 centers. For more info on the IAC, see here and here.

More importantly, industry-specific research, once the backbone of ITP, has been cut to almost nothing. ITP currently partners with the top energy-intensive industries, such as forest & paper products, aluminum, steel, metal casting, glass, and chemicals; in 2011 they will only fund projects for the chemicals and cement industries (a new addition to ITP).

But most surprisingly is the apparent plan to replace this proven method of partnering with industries to perform R&D with a new program called "Manufacturing Energy Systems". This program will supposedly conduct R&D and/or technology deployment at 2 major universities to address the technology needs of specific industries through "rapid innovation of new products and processes" to reduce energy and greenhouse gas emissions.

We're withholding judgment on this program until we see more details. It has potential to be an effective tool to reduce manufacturing energy use in this country, but we feel this activity should not be done at the expense of the proven methods of the Industries of the Future program.

ACEEE supports the work of the Industrial Technologies Program, but feels, along with a recent peer review of ITP, that it should focus more on industry-specific research.

The President has spoken often on the importance of the manufacturing sector in our economy, on how research and development is essential to securing our long-term economic growth, and on the vital role energy efficiency plays in increasing our energy independence and ensuring a clean energy future. However, he has not taken the necessary steps to support the only program in the federal government that is actively addressing all three.

Industry Receives $256 Million in Stimulus Funding

From the Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE) bulletin:

On June 1, 2009, DOE Secretary Steven Chu announced plans to provide $256 million from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (Recovery Act) to support energy efficiency improvements in major industrial sectors across the American economy.

The funding is targeted at reducing the energy consumption of America's manufacturing and information technology industries, while creating jobs and stimulating economic growth. These programs will help create manufacturing jobs quickly, along with jobs for technicians and experts who will be needed in the long-term to maintain and operate the new equipment.

• Combined Heat and Power (CHP), District Energy Systems, Waste Energy Recovery Systems, and Efficient Industrial Equipment ($156 Million)—This funding is targeted toward projects that represent proven and effective near-term energy options that can be deployed in industrial and residential settings to improve efficiency, control costs, and limit greenhouse gas emissions—making U.S. industry more productive and competitive. Learn more about ITP’s Industrial Distributed Energy research and development projects, including CHP.
• Improved Energy Efficiency for Information and Communication Technology ($50 Million)—This project will select and fund applicants to conduct research, development, and demonstration (RD&D) projects to promote new technologies that improve energy efficiency in the growing information and communication technology (ICT) sector. Read the ICT vision and roadmap, Routing Telecom and Data Centers Toward Efficient Energy Use (PDF 2.3 MB). And learn more about ITP’s data center efficiency activities.
• Advanced Materials in Support of Advanced Clean Energy Technologies and Energy-Intensive Processes ($50 Million)—DOE will support RD&D projects for advanced industrial materials that can be used in fuel flexibility programs, CHP technologies, energy intensive processes, and nanomaterials and nanomanufacturing. These projects will help the American industrial sector increase competitiveness, while rapidly introducing advanced technologies. Learn more about ITP’s crosscutting technologies RD&D efforts.

Baldwin Amendment Incorporated into ACES

On Tuesday, an amendment offered by Representative Tammy Baldwin (WI-2) was adopted by the House Energy and Commerce Committee into the American Clean Energy and Security Act (ACES) of 2009 (co-sponsored by Reps. Waxman and Markey).

This amendment would establish Building Assessment Centers (BAC) to train students to identify and implement energy efficiency opportunities in existing residential, commercial, and institutional buildings. The BACs would be modeled after the highly successful Industrial Assessment Center program. Furthermore, the amendment would establish "Centers for Energy and Environmental Knowledge and Outreach" to coordinate activities between the IACs, BACs, and Clean Energy Application Centers (formerly CHP Regional Application Centers).

ACEEE played a key role in the development of this amendment and we are thrilled that it was adopted.

Watch video of the amendment's introduction and adoption here.

The full ACES bill (H.R. 2454) passed out of committee last night. Its text can be viewed here.

Disappointing DOE 2010 Budget Request

DOE released its budget request for FY2010. Unfortunately it is disappointing with respect to the Industrial Technologies Program. Overall, funding increases from $90 million for FY2009 to $100 million for FY2010. However, funding actually goes down for the Industries of the Future (industry specific), with distributed energy and industrial assessment centers level funded. The major increases are for deployment (e.g., SEN) and for cross-cutting research.

We will post some more details once we get a chance to analyze the request in greater detail.

Successful Senate Briefing on S. 661

On Monday, ACEEE and AMMEX hosted a briefing in the Dirksen Senate Office Building on the need for robust appropriations of S. 661, Restoring America's Leadership in Manufacturing through Energy Efficiency Act of 2009. The briefing went quite well; there were many people in attendance, including several Senate staffers.

Neal Elliott of ACEEE, Chip Foley of AISI, Fred Quan representing GMIC, and Rick Boyd of Nova Precision Casting gave compelling statements as to the efficacy of R&D funding and public-private research and technology partnerships in the strengthening of American manufacturing and the potential for further decreases in manufacturing energy consumption and intensity.

We thank our speakers for helping out at the briefing, as well as those who were in attendance.