DOE Will Guarantee $10 Billion for Renewables and Energy Efficiency
July 7, 2008
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In what seems like a last minute effort from the Bush administration to fight global warming and cut the country’s carbon footprint, the US Department of Energy has announced that they will offer $10 billion in loan guarantees for the research and development of renewable energy as well as projects that focus on energy efficiency.
These guarantees are part of a larger $30.5 billion package announced last month. $18.5 billion of that package will be used as loan guarantees for nuclear projects. This part of the package is facing more controversy. While nuclear power has no carbon emissions and thus reduces the national carbon footprint, there is no safe way to dispose of the nuclear waste.
In terms of renewable energy, the DOE will be looking for biomass, geothermal, solar, wind, and hydropower projects. The program will also seek out projects that aim to improve the energy efficiency in buildings in order to cut their carbon footprint. This will also include improvements in the storing and distribution of electricity, seen as a key step in implementing the use of renewable energy that doesn’t provide a steady stream of energy, such as solar and wind power.
After the announcement, Jeffrey Kupser, the Acting Deputy Secretary of Energy, said the guarantees will “enable project developers to bridge the financing gap between pilot and demonstration projects to full commercially viable projects that employ new or significantly improved energy technologies.”
The announcement from the DOE came only a few days after a report commissioned by the WWF said the US was doing the least of all the G8 countries to fight global warming and reduce their carbon footprint. The report emphasized areas of opportunity for the US to improve its level of carbon emissions, namely by focusing on energy efficiency and funding research and development.
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