Photo Credit: CarbonCapture

The Department of Energy has a new mission under President Obama: a clean and renewable energy future for the United States. And now they’ll have the stimulus funds to back it up. But are their hands too full to handle Obama’s renewable shift? New York Times contributor Stephanie Cooke is asserting just that, and she has compelling evidence to support her opinion.

Not only is it compelling, but rather simple and obvious as well. According to Cooke, roughly two-thirds of the DOE’s annual budget — about $27 million — is spent managing thousands of nuclear facilities responsible for making nuclear weapons during the cold war, including cleanup of toxic waste. In turn, only 15 percent of the annual budget is reserved for energy programs, and that includes petroleum along with developing new technologies.

This problem, as frustrating and somewhat surprising as it may be, is systemic for the Department of Energy, Cooke notes. As an offshoot of the Atomic Energy Commission, the DOE has been tangled up in nuclear energy since its inception in the 1970s. More than half of all money spent on energy research from 1948 to 2005 was spent on nuclear energy. That equals $74 billion, compared to $34 billion for fossil fuels and $13 billion for renewables.

So as much as President Obama and many DOE officials want to jump start an energy revolution, hands are tied … and tied tight, as evidenced by current spending practices within the Department of Energy. In 2009 nuclear energy research will receive $1.7 billion. Nuclear weapons programs will get $6.4 billion, not including the $6.5 billion allocated for environmental cleanup. Now compare those numbers to the $1.1 billion set aside for all alternative energy solutions, not including (thankfully) stimulus money.

Even with the stimulus money, Cooke points out, Obama’s Energy Secretary Steven Chu will have his hands full trying to juggle a myriad of nuclear responsibilities and the urgent push for conservation and renewable energy. Some in the Obama administration see this problem and have proposed alleviating the Department of Energy of some of its nuclear baggage. Of course, opposition exists from some leaders in Washington, most notably Senator Jeff Bingaman (D-NM), chairman of the Senate energy committee.

Photo Credit: Schwarzerkater

As powerful as the current voice for renewable energy may be, the nuclear energy and weapons industry has over 50 years of money and vested interests behind it. Obama’s energy revolution certainly has its work cut out for it. I suppose we should be thankful the cold war is over (now if we could just convince some high-ranking politicians of that fact).

Link to Stephanie Cooke’s excellent Op-Ed

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Posted on April 20th in Solar Politics by Dan.