United States Government Publishing Office publisher pbl distributor dst United States Government Accountability Office Resources, Community, and Economic Development Division author aut Government Organization text government publication eng GAOREPORTS Legislative Agency Publications gao legislative 2010-08-12 U.S. Government Printing Office 1997-07-11 monographic deposited born digital 69 p. GA 1.13:RCED-97-188 https://www.govinfo.gov/app/details/GAOREPORTS-RCED-97-188 P0b002ee1803749de f:rc97188 DGPO 2010-08-12 2011-03-28 GAOREPORTS-RCED-97-188 machine generated eng fdlp REPORT GAOREPORTS-RCED-97-188 RCED-97-188 Energy research Research and development Research programs Budget outlays Competitive procurement Future budget projections Cost sharing (finance) Technology transfer Renewable energy sources DOE Solar and Renewable Resources Technologies Program DOE Electric Energy Systems and Storage Program Letter Report RCED GAO provided information on the Solar and Renewable Resources Technologies Program, focusing on the: (1) level of funding committed to research and development (R&D) and other activities in fiscal year 1998; (2) extent to which the Department of Energy's (DOE) costs have been shared with private industry and the type of cost-share arrangements; and (3) extent to which the funds have been competitively awarded. GAO did not independently verify or validate the data provided to GAO.<p/>GAO noted that: (1) in fiscal year 1998, DOE proposes to spend $311 million of the $345 million Solar and Renewable Resources Technologies Program budget for solar and renewable energy R&D projects and $34 million for non-R&D activities; (2) the R&D projects range from experiments for increasing knowledge and understanding to full-scale engineering development; (3) because many of the renewable energy technologies already exist and are being improved to increase their efficiency and reduce cost, $55 million will be spent for operational tests/field validations--the phase of R&D that is closest to commercialization; (4) almost $16 million of the non-R&D funds will be used for program direction, including salaries, travel, and administrative services; (5) the remaining non-R&D activities include information dissemination, incentive payments to public power entities, and laboratory maintenance and construction; (6) DOE leverages federal funds and encourages commercialization of renewable energy technologies by requiring industry and other partners to share the R&D costs; (7) during fiscal years 1996 and 1997, private industry and other groups' cost-sharing ranged between 3 and 84 percent of the cost of the research projects, depending on the renewable energy subprogram, the size of the firms involved, and the phase of R&D; (8) the cost-shares were in the form of cash or in-kind contributions, such as salary or equipment costs or a combination of both; (9) most of the funding agreements entered into by the Solar and Renewable Resources Technologies Program were awarded on a competitive basis during fiscal years 1996 and 1997; (10) the percentage of competitive awards ranged from none for some subprogram activities to 100 percent for others; (11) most of the subprograms awarded at least 50 percent of the funds competitively; and (12) according to DOE program officials, the contract funds awarded noncompetitively met allowable exceptions to competition. https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/GAOREPORTS-RCED-97-188/html/GAOREPORTS-RCED-97-188.htm https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/GAOREPORTS-RCED-97-188/pdf/GAOREPORTS-RCED-97-188.pdf GAO/RCED-97-188 https://www.govinfo.gov/app/details/GAOREPORTS-RCED-97-188 Letter Report GAO/RCED-97-188; Department of Energy: Solar and Renewable Resources Technologies Program; Energy research Research and development Research programs Budget outlays Competitive procurement Future budget projections Cost sharing (finance) Technology transfer Renewable energy sources DOE Solar and Renewable Resources Technologies Program DOE Electric Energy Systems and Storage Program