Matt Rogers of the Department of Energy discusses how $36.7 billion from the Recovery Act is helping to define the future of green power--and the agency itself
Can wind turbines help to get the U.S. economy spinning again? The
U.S. Department of Energy (DoE) is banking on the notion that they
will at least help. With the $36.7 billion it received from the 2009
American Recovery and Reinvestment Act last February, the agency is
making historic investments in the energy industry.
Not all of the money is going into building better turbines, of course.
The agency is also putting big green toward a host of other
emission-lowering projects, including better
batteries ($2 billion), geothermal technologies ($400 million) and
carbon capture and storage ($3.4 billion).
Whereas the largest chunk of change ($16.8 billion) is going to
renewable energy and energy conservation, one of the smallest cuts of
the DoE stimulus payout ($1.6 billion) is going toward scientific
research. In a
congressional hearing on the DoE's 2011 budget earlier this month,
Energy Secretary Steven
Chu noted that science,
however, was a crucial part of future development:"With every initiative the department undertakes, sound science must be at the core."
To read the full, original article click on this link: Energizing Energy: How the Stimulus Bill Has Ignited Innovation in the Renewables Sector--A Q&A: Scientific American
Author: Katherine Harmon
