Budget Highlights Page demonstrate the Administration's commitment to the reduction of carbon emissions. However, the reduction of carbon emissions is but one of many societal benefits of DOE's proposed FY 1999 energy R&D investment. Expenditures on energy account for about 8 percent of the gross economic product of the United States. And, as stated in the PCAST report, experience has shown that periods of excessive energy costs are associated with inflation, recession, and frustrated economic aspirations. It is also true that global sales of new energy technologies run in the hundreds of billions of dollars per year. The PCAST report also states that energy production and consumption account for a large share of the most worrisome environmental problems at every geographic scale-from woodsmoke in Third World village huts, to regional smog and acid precipitation in industrialized and developing countries alike, to the risk of widespread radioactive contamination from accidents at nuclear energy facilities, to the build-up of carbon dioxide and other heat-trapping gasses in the global atmosphere. The report sites the link of national security to energy through the increasing dependence of this country and the world oil market on imported oil, much of it from the politically troubled Middle East; through the danger that nuclear-weapons-relevant knowledge and materials will be transferred from civilian nuclear energy programs into national nuclear arsenals or terrorist bombs, and through the potential for large-scale failures of energy strategy with economic or environmental consequences serious enough to generate or aggravate social and political instability. It is now generally agreed among forecasters that global demand for oil, mainly from developing nations, will grow by 25-35 percent over the next 15 years. According to the Department of Energy's independent Energy Information Administration (EIA), the world will need another 25 million barrels of oil a day by the year 2010. The International Energy Agency projects an even greater growth in demand, following the inexorable tide of population growth, urbanization, and industrialization. The Department's FY 1999 request for energy R&D technologies was formulated within this context of the projected world energy market and the challenges that lie ahead in the next century. Energy efficiency and renewable energy programs are an important part of the Department's strategy to meet these energy objectives. The PCAST report indicates that "improvements in energy efficiency reduced the energy intensity of economic activity in the U.S. by nearly one-third between 1975 and 1995, an improvement that is now saving U.S. consumers about $170 billion per year in energy expenditures and is keeping U.S. emissions of air pollutants and carbon dioxide about a third lower than they would otherwise be. In FY 1999, the Department requests a total of $1,146 million for Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy programs, a net increase of $282 million. Within this increase, $261 million is identified as part of the President's Climate Change Technology Initiative to demonstrate the Administration's commitment to the reduction of greenhouse gas and other emissions. These programs support deployment partnerships and collaborations with the private sector to address key technology and market barriers, and promote U.S. energy technology leadership in domestic and international markets. The increase for energy efficiency and renewable energy also includes $36.0 million for the President's Partnership for a New Generation of Vehicles to develop prototype vehicles without compromises in safety, performance, or affordability and twice the fuel economy; and $22.9 million to support Industries of the Future partnerships to create technology roadmaps for energy intensive industries to save energy, improve productivity and reduce waste. Page 5 Budget Highlights The budget request for the Fossil Energy program recognizes that nearly 85 percent of the nation's energy is currently supplied by coal, oil and natural gas-world-wide, fossil fuels supply 75 percent of total energy demand. Meanwhile, our oil imports are steadily increasing. With the contribution of these fuels projected to increase in coming years, the Department's Fossil Energy program focuses its funding primarily on ways to ensure continued environmental protection and enhance our domestic oil security. As part of the FY 1999 emphasis on energy science and technology, the request proposes $10 The FY 1999 request also emphasizes research and development of new natural gas and coal- The Fossil Energy FY 1999 budget also supports several efforts to ensure greater domestic oil In FY 1999, the Department also proposes an emphasis on nuclear energy R&D. According to PCAST, nuclear fission currently generates about 17 percent of the world's electricity, if this electricity were generated instead by coal, world carbon dioxide emissions from fossil fuel consumption would be almost 10 percent larger than they currently are. A total of $361 million is requested for Nuclear Energy Research and Development in FY 1999. This request supports a new initiative, the Nuclear Energy Research Initiative (NERI), to emphasize collaborative research among the universities, national laboratories, and industry. The program also supports the application of DOE-developed technologies to reduce the storage, transportation and repository costs of spent nuclear fuel in the U.S. The Nuclear Energy Research and Development budget in FY 1999 also continues to focus on building and delivering advanced nuclear power systems to NASA and defense customers; maintaining an adequate supply of isotopes for medical and research purposes; supporting U.S. nuclear research, development and education; and providing technical support to ensure the safe operation of Soviet-designed nuclear reactors. Budget Highlights National Security: National Security - Investments for a Safe, Strong Future Page 6 The Department's defense laboratories and production facilities are the Nation's repository of nuclear weapons-related knowledge and manufacturing capability. This unique and irreplaceable resource helped win the Cold War and continues to ensure our national security. The FY 1999 program request for National Security programs is $6.1 billion', an increase of $421 million from the FY 1998 enacted level. The growth in this area reflects our efforts to build the facilities and develop the necessary capabilities to meet our strategic national security objectives under a Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty. The Department's national security responsibilities are focused on maintaining the safety and reliability of our nuclear weapons, advancing our arms control and nonproliferation initiatives, and providing nuclear reactors for the U.S. Navy. DOE is an integral part of the U.S. national security community and plays an essential role by providing unique technical expertise in support of the Department of Defense, the State Department, and other agencies focused on reducing the global danger from nuclear weapons, other weapons of mass destruction, and improving international nuclear safety. National Security Funding Over the past several years, United States national security The Department's Nonproliferation and National Security The Department of Energy is responsible for ensuring the safety and reliability of the nation's nuclear stockpile under a Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty. The Department's FY 1999 budget request proposes a total of $4.5 billion for Defense Programs, an increase of $357 million from FY 1998. A significant portion of this increase supports investments in science and technology that will play a critical role in support of the objectives of the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty. The Department of Energy is embarking on an ambitious scientific challenge that relies on advancing the state of the art computer simulation capabilities to ensure, without nuclear testing, the readiness of the nuclear stockpile. One component of this science-based approach is the National Ignition Facility (NIF), for which the Department proposes $291 million in FY 1999. The National Ignition Facility will house a 192-beam laser, the world's largest. The NIF will create, for the first time ever in a The national security business line includes only a part of DOE's programs in the national defense budget function (050), which totals $12,140 million in FY 1999. Page 7 Environmental Quality: Accelerating Progress, Meeting Budget Highlights lab, brief bursts of self-sustaining fusion reactions. These kinds of reactions power the sun and the stars, and will allow us to study nuclear weapons physics without conducting underground nuclear tests as we have in the past. The NIF is also a good example of the way in which DOE's various missions interrelate and tie together through the application of science. Although the NIF is being built for national security reasons, there will be many other important benefits to the American people. The NIF also will advance our fundamental knowledge in basic science. In areas such as astrophysics, scientists will be able to create conditions of high temperature and density, like those within a star, to allow research previously unattainable in the laboratory. With regard to computer simulation the President's decision to stop nuclear testing has required that the Department and its laboratories dramatically advance the state of the art in computer modeling to analyze the safety and reliability of the nation's nuclear stockpile. A key element of the response to this challenge is the Department's Accelerated Strategic Computing Initiative (ASCI), for which $331 million is proposed in FY 1999. As part of ASCI, the Department is developing supercomputers that by 2004 will be 1500 times faster than the fastest available in 1996. In December 1996, DOE acquired a supercomputer capable of doing one trillion operations per second, a factor of three faster than the world's previous fastest computer. By 2004, we'll be able to do, in one day, problems that used to take four years to solve. This level of computing is essential to maintain the safety, security and performance of the stockpile in the absence of nuclear testing. This proposed expansion of current computing capability promises enormous economic and scientific benefits throughout American industry, academia and science. In FY 1999, a total of $169 million is requested for Fissile Materials Disposition to provide for the verifiable storage and disposition of U.S. weapons-usable fissile materials (highly enriched uranium and plutonium) and provide the technical basis to attain reciprocal actions for the disposition of surplus Russian plutonium. This request provides for continued development of immobilization and plutonium conversion technologies; the design of a Pit Disassembly and Conversion Facility required to convert classified surplus nuclear weapons pits to an oxide form suitable for disposition and international inspection; design of a Mixed Oxide Fuel (MOX) Fabrication Facility to put the plutonium oxide into a form suitable for burning in domestic, commercial reactors; and development of a pilot-scale plutonium conversion system in Russia to facilitate the disposition of Russian plutonium. Construction of the Plutonium disposition facilities in the United States will not take place unless there is significant progress on plans for plutonium disposition in Russia. A total of $45 million is requested for the Worker and Community Transition program, which seeks to mitigate the impact of work force restructuring due to defense mission changes and provides local impact assistance to affected communities. For Naval Reactors, a total of $666 million is requested to continue provision of safe, reliable, and long-lived nuclear propulsion plants to the U.S. Navy. Environmental Quality — A Focus on Completion, Closure, and Cleanup The Department is taking an aggressive approach to address the immediate and long-term environmental and health risks of the Department's former weapons production complex, and resolve the issues surrounding spent nuclear fuel storage. In FY 1999, the Department is requesting $6,654 million for Environmental Quality programs, a 5 percent increase from the FY 1998 level. This request marks a shift in focus toward the closure of sites and completion of projects with a targeted approach to cleanup. The FY 1999 request will enable the Department to address the highest human health, safety, 49-799 98-9 Budget Highlights Page 8 and environmental risks within the Department of Energy complex. This request will also enable the Department to continue its real progress toward an answer to some of the most critical questions in the area of long-term nuclear waste disposal. Environmental Quality Funding The development of a nuclear waste repository is one of the Nation's most daunting technical challenges. Since the Department restructured its approach in 1996 in response to Congressional direction, the repository program has made notable progress. The efforts have focused on constructing facilities and collecting and analyzing data to resolve the remaining open technical issues regarding the suitability of the Yucca Mountain site. Now the Department is on the verge of answering this most basic question. A viability assessment of the Yucca Mountain system is scheduled to be completed in 1998. The $380.0 million requested in FY 1999 for the Civilian Radioactive Waste Management program will support data synthesis and analysis, model validation, and refinement of engineering and designs necessary for major upcoming decision documents: the Final Environmental Impact Statement and Record of Decision in 2000; the Site Recommendation to the President in 2001, if the site is found suitable; and the License Application to the Nuclear Regulatory Commission in 2002. The FY 1999 budget request of $150 million for programs within the Office of Environment, The Department of Energy manages a legacy of 130 hazardous, radioactive, and mixed waste The development of environmental cleanup technologies and the pursuit of related science is |