President Obama sent his requested FY2013 budget to Congress Monday, and requested, among other energy-related items, significant increases to energy R&D, renewable energy investments, and energy efficiency programs. From the request: “In light of the tight discretionary spending caps, this increase in funding is significant and a testament to the importance of innovation and clean energy to the country’s economic future.”

Among the energy-related budget requests:

  • $27.2 billion to the Department of Energy, a 3.2% hike over FY2012
  • $5 billion for DOE’s Office of Science
  • $2.3 billion for DOE’s Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy office – a 29% increase – with a focus on improving clean-vehicle technologies to move closer to one million advanced vehicles on the road, and on developing advanced materials and processes to cut the costs of manufacturing by using less energy
  • $650.8 million for the US Department of Energy Office of Fossil Energy. The request includes $420.6 million for Fossil Energy Research and Development; $195.6 million for the Strategic Petroleum Reserve; $14.9 million for the Naval Petroleum Reserves [GreenCarCongress.com]
  • $770 million for DOE’s Office of Nuclear Energy, to help develop small modular reactors and implement the nuclear waste management recommendations
  • $350 million for DOE’s ARPA-E
  • A repeal of over $4 billion/year in subsidies to oil, gas, and other fossil fuel producers
  • $248 million for the Department of Transportation’s Pipeline Safety program, up 44% from last year [EnergyandCapital.com]

What do you think of President Obama’s requested budget? What, if anything, would you change? What aspects of the nation’s energy infrastructure need the most support in the short-run? In the long-run?