U.S. President Donald Trump’s Budget for FY 2019, proposed to the U.S. Congress on 12 February, requests USD 30.6 billion for the Department of Energy (DOE) , with DOE’s Energy Efficiency & Renewable Energy (EERE) Office witnessing a cut of a little more than 65% compared to the budget enacted for 2017.
Of the total USD 30.6 billion, most would go to DOE’s National Nuclear Security Administration (USD 15.1 billion), while the Energy Program would get USD 2.5 billion, USD 1.9 billion below the budget in 2017. Of this, USD 696 million would be earmarked for the Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy Office – USD 1.3 billion less than in 2017 .
This DOE office focuses on early stage research and development (R&D) of energy technologies, including renewable energy technologies and new approaches to energy storage beyond current battery technologies.
On the other hand, DOE’s office for fossil energy R&D would get USD 81 million more than in FY 2017 to focus on cutting-edge, early stage R&D to improve the reliability and efficiency of advanced fossil-based power systems. The proposed budget for this programme id USD 502 million.
To remind, the requested budget for BOEM’s renewable energy activities under the budget proposal for the Department of the Interior (DOI) has also been reduced by a little less than USD 4 million compared to 2017, while BOEM’s activities in conventional energy would be backed by some USD 3 million more than in 2017.