U.S. President Barack Obama’s final budget proposal for Fiscal Year 2017 includes a request for USD 7.7 billion in discretionary funding for clean energy research and development across 12 governmental agencies, an increase of about 20 percent compared to the previous year.
U.S. Energy Secretary Ernest Moniz said the proposed fiscal year (FY) 2017 budget reaffirms the country’s commitment to Mission Innovation , an agreement made by the United States and 19 other countries to double clean energy R&D over five years. The U.S. government will seek to double the USD 6.4 billion that Congress provided in FY 2016 for clean energy R&D to USD 12.8 billion in FY 2021.
The request puts forward USD 5.85 billion in discretionary funding for clean energy R&D at the Department of Energy (DOE), a 21 percent increase from FY 2016, including increases for DOE’s innovation incubator ARPA-E (Advanced Research Projects Agency-Energy) and the creation of new regional partnerships.
The FY 2017 budget proposal also includes USD 175.1 million to fund the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management’s (BOEM) mission to manage the country’s offshore energy and mineral resources.
BOEM says the request would provide the resources needed for an effective management of oil and gas development, renewable energy, and mineral resources on the U.S. Outer Continental Shelf (OCS) in a way that promotes efficient and environmentally responsible development.
The president’s FY17 budget request for the bureau focuses on core program responsibilities, such as the Five Year Outer Continental Shelf Oil and Gas Program, oil and gas exploration and development plans, offshore renewable energy and environmental analysis and studies. The request includes an increase of USD 4.1 million over the FY 2016 enacted level.