Critics contend that the Dept. of Energy’s loan-guarantee and Advanced Research Projects Agency-Energy (ARPA-E) programs are a burden on taxpayers, but current and former DOE officials disagree, saying the programs will enable the U.S. to retain its leadership in an increasingly competitive global energy marketplace.
Since DOE’s loan-guarantee program was established in 2005 to help commercialize innovative energy technologies, it has helped to fund major solar, wind and other non-fossil energy construction projects. But House energy subcommittee Chairman Randy Weber (R-Texas) said at a March 3 hearing on the loan-guarantee program, “The federal government should get out of the way, focus our limited resources on research and development, and let the market drive investment for energy innovation.”