Looking to maximize the adoption of cleaner energy sources and create new US jobs, President Obama is proposing a major increase in federal funding for renewable energy R&D, including creation of three new multidisciplinary research centers and a big increase for a three-year-old Department of Energy program that awards grants for long-shot research into potentially transformative energy sources. In a State of the Union speech that included a proposed five-year freeze on domestic discretionary spending, the president said the increases could be offset by ending subsidies now enjoyed by fossil-fuel producers.
In remarks a day after the State of the Union address, Energy Secretary Steven Chu predicted that batteries capable of powering an electric car up to 400 miles on one charge will be commercially available in as few as “half a dozen years.” Currently available all-electric vehicles have a maximum range of 100 miles per charge, insufficient to overcome...
