Little Duplication In Solar, Battery Aid

In two studies released last week, the Government Accountability Office reported little duplication in nearly $4 billion of federal spending to support technological development of more than 100 advanced solar energy and battery projects. In one study, GAO, the investigative arm of Congress, examined 65 solar-energy-related federally funded projects, worth a total of $2.6 billion. It found that in some cases the projects overlapped because of the nature of the research, but the projects were not duplicative. Results were similar in another GAO study that examined $1.3 billion in federal support for some 39 R&D projects to support battery and energy storage technological development. This funding went to universities, companies, and federal labs and was supplied by six federal agencies, with the Energy and Defense Departments providing the most. Reps. Ralph M. Hall (R-Texas) and Andy P. Harris (R-Md.), both critics of federal R&D spending for alternative energy, requested the reports.