How Biden’s Budget Shortchanges Clean Energy Innovation
President Biden and bipartisan majorities in Congress last year enacted a series of landmark bills aiming to bolster U.S. investments in science and technology in a bid to outcompete China in key industries, from semiconductors to clean energy technologies. The president’s budget proposal for the coming fiscal year now serves as a blueprint for how the government plans to deliver on that promise.
As Hoyu Chong writes in RealClearEnergy, unfortunately, when it comes to clean energy technologies, there is a mismatch between last year’s declarations of intent and the funding priorities that the president’s budget enumerates for the Energy Department’s portfolio of research, development, and demonstration (RD&D) programs. It cuts investments in key areas where China is vaulting ahead, and it tilts too far toward basic research at the expense of applied RD&D.
