Clean Energy: Putting Your Money Where Your Mouth Is

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As the government considers President Obama’s proposed budget, we hope our legislators push hard for budget commitments and policies that make the creation of a strong domestic clean technology industry a priority. The budget, after all, is the government displaying its priorities with numbers attached. We’re pleased that President Obama’s budget focuses on the future, and creating a cleaner, greener, more competitive, and more secure America.

We know that we cannot rely on the fossil fuels of yesterday the way we do today. President Obama’s budget acknowledges this reality and cuts subsidies to fossil fuels while investing in research and development for renewable energy. The clean technology investments proposed, including renewable energy research at the Department of Energy’s ARPA-E and the three new centers of renewable energy innovation, will pay off in the long term.

Applied Materials applauds the roles government agencies including the Departments of Energy and Defense are playing increasing their use of renewable energy sources and implementing energy efficient technology and this budget will allow them to continue to lead our country in the right direction. It is this type of public commitment, coupled with private sector innovation and development that will nurture and grow tomorrow’s next great industry.

We are also pleased to see that the President is not shying away from investing in education. Programs such as the Solar Decathlon that inspire the next generation of engineers, architects and scientists need to remain priorities if we want to continue to lead the global technology race. Likewise, programs that ensure Americans have access to top tier educations must not be sacrificed, even in trying times.

At Applied Materials, our priorities align with the President’s budget priorities. We are leading the world developing and scaling solar research at the world’s largest solar research facility. And in Santa Clara, we’re developing technologies for LED lighting, batteries and advanced integrated circuits. We are committed to developing and scaling technology that will enable us to meet the clean energy milestones outlined in President Obama’s State of the Union, such as producing 80% of our electricity from clean energy sources by 2035.

In the coming weeks, Washington will debate the budget and which priorities to fund. We hope these priorities will pave the way to a green future, not sustaining yesterday’s technology on today’s dime.

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Comments

Here's hoping Congress can steer the right course

Submitted by Bruce Klafter on Wed, 02/16/2011 - 15:45.

While I am not a big proponent of the notion that government should be run more like a business, surely some business sense can be applied to establish our budget priorities. Much of the debate at the moment seems to be driven entirely by ideology without regard for the objectives, costs and benefits of the various budget items. For example, the calls to slash DOE and EPA budgets and to suspend their regulatory powers (over such subjects as greenhouse gas emissions and lighting energy efficiency) are unaccompanied by evidence that the costs outweigh the benefits or that a human health and the environment are not at risk if a suspension is effected. It is also necessary to point out that this type of debate seemingly never takes place in other areas where the spending is immense and where pork barrel projects are plentiful (e.g. defense, agriculture, transportation). It seems quite certain to me that our energy supplies need to be diversified, that energy is inextricably linked to security and that oil and gas receive disproportionate subsidies. Gutting the energy efficiency and renewable programs at DOE in that context seems shortsighted or worse.