President's Energy Budget Invests in Innovation, Clean Energy, and National Security Priorities

Washington D.C. --- U.S. Energy Secretary Steven Chu detailed President Barack Obama’s $28.4 billion Fiscal Year 2011 budget request for the Department of Energy, highlighting the Administration’s commitment to create jobs with the development of a clean energy economy, invest in advanced science, research and innovation, maintain a strong nuclear deterrent and secure nuclear materials both at home and abroad, and improve energy efficiency to help curb greenhouse gas emissions that contribute to climate change. The FY 2011 budget request also places an emphasis on DOE improving fiscal performance with the proposed creation of a new initiative on Management Reform.

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.

For more information about the Administration’s Fiscal Year 2011 budget proposal for the Department of Energy, please visit Energy.gov's Budget and Performance page.