Departments of Agriculture and Interior Boost Clean Energy Budgets

The Obama Administration has been very good at providing funding for clean energy projects through the Department of Energy, but other federal departments have lesser-known projects that contribute to the administration’s renewable energy goals as well.

For example, the U.S. Departments of Agriculture and Interior are proposing to increase funding for renewable energy and energy efficiency programs in their budget requests for fiscal year (FY) 2011.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) budget proposes funding of $39 million for the Rural Energy for America Program. The Farm Bill provides another $70 million, supporting an additional $36 million in grants and an estimated $73 million in loan guarantees. The budget proposes $17 million for the Biorefinery Assistance Program, enough to support $50 million in loan guarantees, while the Farm Bill provides $85 million for the Bioenergy for Advanced Biofuels program.

Through the Commodity Credit Corporation, the budget provides $479 million for the Biomass Crop Assistance Program. The Farm Bill also provides $15 million for the Forest Biomass for Energy Program and $5 million for the Community Wood Energy Program, both programs of the U.S. Forest Service.

In terms of research, the proposed FY 2011 budget provides $10 million for the establishment of five Regional Biofuels Feedstocks Research and Demonstration Centers, which will coordinate government research efforts to accelerate the development and deployment of dedicated energy feedstocks. The USDA budget also includes $34 million for a research initiative to develop cost-effective non-food feedstocks for biofuels.

But perhaps most significant is that the 2008 Farm Bill allows the USDA's Rural Utilities Service (RUS) to provide loans for energy-saving efforts, including energy efficiency and renewable energy projects. The budget for the RUS Electric Programs includes $4.1 billion in loans, although it's unclear how much of those loans may go to clean energy projects versus traditional transmission and distribution projects. The USDA also notes that funding for several of its business programs, including the Business and Industry Loan Guarantee Program and Value-Added Producer Grants, will be available for clean energy projects. In addition, the Homeownership Loan and Loan Guarantee programs will provide financing for more energy efficient homes.

For the U.S. Department of Interior (DOI), the New Energy Frontier initiative includes $73.3 million for renewable energy programs, a 24% increase above 2010 funding levels. The proposed funding includes $19.8 million for the Bureau of Land Management to review applications for renewable energy projects on public lands, $34.9 million for the Minerals Management Service for renewable energy activities on the Outer Continental Shelf, $6.6 million for U.S. Geological Survey to analyze and document the effects of renewable energy on wildlife populations, and $7 million for the Fish and Wildlife Service to conduct endangered species consultations and help plan and design renewable energy projects that are friendly to wildlife. It also includes $5 million for the Bureau of Indian Affairs to help facilitate renewable energy development on tribal lands.

Confronting the realities of climate change, the proposed budget seeks $171.3 million for the Climate Change Adaptation initiative, an increase of $35.4 million over 2010, to carry out the Department’s integrated program. This initiative will examine the causes and formulate solutions to mitigate climate impacts to lands, waters, natural and cultural resources. The DOI's Climate Science Centers and Landscape Conservation Cooperatives will conduct and communicate research and monitoring to improve understanding and forecasting of which elements of our land, water, marine, fish and wildlife and cultural heritage resources are most vulnerable to climate change impacts and make them more resilient.

The budget also includes $2 million for expansion of the U.S Geological Survey's carbon sequestration project; $2.5 million for the Bureau of Land Management and $2 million for the Fish and Wildlife Service's adaptive management activities on private lands. The budgets for the Bureau of Reclamation and Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) also include climate change funding, including $3.5 million for Reclamation basin studies and scientific support,  and $200,000 for BIA participation in a Landscape Conservation Cooperative.

“Through our collective effort in protecting America’s natural resources and cultural heritage, we support 1.3 million jobs and generate over $370 billion in economic activity each year. Interior plays a key role in responsibly developing America’s new energy frontier, tackling the impacts of climate change, preserving America’s treasured landscapes and empowering Tribal nations,” said Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar

In 2011, the Department of Interior will collect an estimated $14 billion for the U.S. Treasury, more than offsetting the budget request for current appropriations.