U.S. Secretary of Energy Samuel W. Bodman today announced (February 4th, 2008) President Bush’s $25 billion Fiscal Year 2009 budget request for the Department of Energy (DOE), an increase of $1.073 billion over the FY 2008 appropriation. This request will continue investments to meet growing energy demand with clean, safe, affordable, reliable and diverse supplies of energy; support the development of climate change technologies; advance environmental cleanup; and ensure the reliability of our nuclear weapons stockpile. The President’s budget for DOE directly supports the development of cutting-edge carbon capture and storage technologies (CCS); begins to transform the weapons complex to address 21st century challenges; and accelerates technological breakthroughs to further the President’s Advanced Energy Initiative (AEI), and scientific leadership through the American Competitiveness Initiative (ACI).

“This budget furthers President Bush’s comprehensive strategy to increase energy, economic, and national security by focusing on accelerating technological breakthroughs, expanding traditional and renewable sources of energy, and increasing investment in scientific discovery and development,” Secretary Bodman said. “From transforming the weapons complex to maintain the utmost safety and reliability of our nuclear weapons stockpile, to issuing solicitations for loan guarantees to spur innovation in advanced energy technologies, this budget enables the Department to continue to lay the foundation for a clean, safe, secure and reliable energy future for all Americans.”

Among the President’s priorities funded in the FY 2009 budget request includes $1.4 billion to promote the expansion of safe, emissions free nuclear power. DOE continues to actively work with industry partners to promote the near-term licensing and deployment of America’s first new nuclear plants in more than 30 years. This budget also requests $648 million, the largest budget request in over 25 years, for increased research in clean coal technology and demonstration of carbon capture and storage for coal-fired power plants, an important component of the Administration’s Climate Change Technology Program.

Another key priority in the Department’s budget includes support of its Loan Guarantee program, which requests $19.9 million for administrative expenses, and would be offset by collections in the same amount as authorized under the Energy Policy Act of 2005 (EPAct). In addition, DOE requests an extension of its authorization to issue loan guarantees through FY 2010 and FY 2011, enabling commitments to guarantee loans under Title XVII of EPAct to total more than $38 billion from FY 2008 through FY 2011. These efforts, combined with plans to further expand the Strategic Petroleum Reserve to an ultimate capacity of 1.5 billion barrels by 2029, will help achieve a more secure and reliable energy future for the nation.

The budget also continues to significantly invest in the President’s Advanced Energy Initiative (AEI) and the American Competitiveness Initiative (ACI), both unveiled in President Bush’s 2006 State of the Union Address.

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