U.S. Secretary of Energy Jennifer M. Granholm praised President Joe Biden's proposed budget for next fiscal year in a March 28 Department of Energy news release.
“As we facilitate the transition to clean energy, the investments reflected in this latest budget will cut costs for Americans and secure our energy independence on our path toward a net-zero future," Granholm said. “After a year of unprecedented economic growth that resulted in more than $500 billion in deficit reduction, the President’s budget reflects his commitment to protecting our national security, cleaning up legacy pollution from historic nuclear activities and transitioning the U.S. to clean energy."
The proposed DOE budget includes "investments to fight climate change through the accelerated deployment of clean energy, restructure our energy portfolio to strengthen our energy independence and invest in urban and rural communities that have been disproportionately impacted by climate change but overlooked in the clean energy transition," the news release reported.
The DOE will "help lay a stronger foundation for shared growth and prosperity for generations to come" with investments such as increasing energy affordability and resilience, supporting secure supply chains to be resilient to geopolitical disruptions, increasing energy security and building U.S. technology leadership by reducing reliance on fossil fuels and increasing our nation’s security, the release said.
Projects that would be funded in the proposed budget include $502 million to weatherize at least 50,000 homes, the news release said. The budget also includes $200 million to "bolster the U.S. supply chain for solar energy technologies through a new Solar Manufacturing Accelerator."
The budget would also provide $4 billion for DOE’s Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy to "accelerate the research, development, demonstration and deployment of technologies and solutions to cut energy costs through low-cost clean energy resources, equitably reach net-zero emissions by 2050 and create good-paying jobs," DOE said.
