What Does the Bush Budget Mean for Renewable Energy?

The first shot has been fired in the Federal Budget War of FY'09 and it ain't pretty.

This Monday, President Bush released his proposed $3.1 trillion budget (that's trillion with a "T"), a 6% increase over the projected $2.9 trillion in spending for FY'08. With such a large number, everyone wins, right? Of course not! This is Washington we're talking about.

As the experts gather to dissect the budget, the headlines have mostly touted the increased spending for Homeland Security and the Defense Department and the cuts proposed in education & health care. But we're looking at commodities. Beyond generalized help for the economy (i.e., Bush's stimulus package), the most important places for us to look are at the energy budgets … and particularly, exploration and renewable energy.

Energy Department Budget

The blurb from the White House states the following about the proposed Energy Department budget:

Increases energy security by focusing on renewables, accelerating technological breakthroughs, and expanding traditional sources to reduce our reliance on foreign oil.

In plain English, Bush is throwing more money at cleaning up coal and at increasing the use of nuclear power in America. This is continued good news for companies that are working on the clean coal technology, and the nuclear power companies who have been trying to run new plants for years.

Read the full story