Federal Support for the Development, Production, and Use of Fuels and Energy Technologies

Abstract : The federal government provides financial support for the development, production, and use of fuels and energy technologies both through tax preferences and through spending programs administered by the Department of Energy (DOE). Policymakers have provided that support with several goals in mind, including increasing domestic energy production, reducing greenhouse gas emissions, and encouraging research that might benefit society but that would not be profitable for private firms to undertake without government funding. In fiscal year 2015, tax preferences provided the bulk of federal support for energy development, production, and use. Whereas tax preferences are estimated to have resulted in $15.8 billion in forgone revenues, lawmakers appropriated funds equal to about one-third of that amount $5.4 billion for DOE to fund the relevant spending programs.