DOE Allocates Stimulus Funding

The Department of Energy announced $1.2 billion in new science funding under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act for major construction, laboratory infrastructure, and research efforts at national laboratories. 

“Leadership in science remains vital to America’s economic prosperity, energy security, and global competitiveness,” said Secretary Steven Chu. “These projects not only provide critically needed short-term economic relief but also represent a strategic investment in our nation’s future. They will create thousands of jobs and breathe new life into many local economies, while helping to accelerate new technology development, renew our scientific and engineering workforce, and modernize our nation’s scientific infrastructure.”

The DOE Office of Science is the steward of ten National Laboratories in eight states across the nation and constructs and operates large-scale scientific facilities such as advanced light sources and nanoscale science research centers that provide the cutting-edge tools of today’s advanced energy and physical science research. 

Many of the Recovery Act projects are focused on these widely used National Laboratory facilities. The package also provides substantial support for both university- and National Laboratory-based researchers, working on problems in fields ranging from particle and plasma physics to biofuels, solar energy, superconductivity, solid state lighting, electricity storage and materials science, among others.

The Department said it is poised to move aggressively on these projects–many already existing, some new–to ensure maximum jobs impact and scientific payoff.

Approved projects include:

• $150 million to accelerate ongoing construction on the National Synchrotron Light Source-II at Brookhaven National Laboratory, in Upton, New York. This new, state-of-the-art high intensity light source is expected to facilitate major breakthroughs in next-generation energy technologies, materials science and biotechnology. Ultimately, it could lead to advances in battery technology and photovoltaics.
• $123 million for major construction, modernization, and needed decommissioning of laboratory facilities at Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL), in Oak Ridge Tennessee; Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (LBNL), in Berkeley, California; and Brookhaven National Laboratory.
• $277 million for Energy Frontier Research Centers, to be awarded on a competitive basis to universities and DOE National Laboratories across the country. These centers aim to accelerate the transformational basic science needed to develop plentiful and cost-effective alternative energy sources.

Facilities supported by Recovery Act funding include, among others, the ARM Climate Research Facility, a collection of climate measurement facilities located around the globe that gather atmospheric data needed to reduce uncertainty about climate change.

In addition, the Recovery Act funding provides $125 million for needed infrastructure improvements across nine DOE national laboratories

The $1.2 billion is the first installment of a total of $1.6 billion allocated to the DOE Office of Science by Congress under the Recovery Act legislation. Officials are working on details remaining to enable approval and release of the balance of $371 million.

A more detailed breakdown of the funding is available at the link below.