Feds Drop $327 Million into Labs to Research Grid Technologies, Energy Security and Other Challenges

Ten of the Department of Energy’s national laboratories as well as researchers at institutions of higher learning will share $327 million in Recovery Act funds to support scientific research, instrumentation, and laboratory infrastructure projects.

“The projects provide vital funding and new tools for research aimed at strengthening America’s energy security and tackling some of science’s toughest challenges,” Energy Secretary Steven Chu said in announcing the awards.

Among the new projects approved for funding are:

·         Analysis of Smart Grid technology development to improve the efficiencies of the nation’s electricity grid. The Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory in Berkeley, CA, the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory in Richland, WA, and the Sandia National Laboratories in Sandia, NM, and Sandia, CA will split more than $2.4 million to conduct mathematical analysis related to the development of the Smart Grid.

·         Expanded funding for integrated climate research, which blends climate modeling with modeling of human factors such as economics and choices about energy production, consumption, and use.

·         New equipment for the DOE Bioenergy Research Centers, regarded as the world’s most advanced centers for fundamental research on biofuels.

·         Improvements at high-intensity light sources – which the DOE describes as today’s cutting edge tools for advanced research in energy, materials science, and a host of other fields.

This $327 million for projects announced Aug. 4 is the final round of funding from the $1.6 billion that the DOE Office of Science received from Congress under the Recovery Act.