DOE is preparing to offer nearly $4 billion in Recovery Act
funds for Smart Grid projects and has significantly raised the
maximum awards for Smart Grid demonstration projects.
DOE and the U.S. Department of Commerce have also
announced the first set of proposed Smart Grid standards.

The Bureau of Land Management (BLM), a part of the U.S.
Department of the Interior, will invest $41 million in Recovery
Act funds to reduce its backlog of applications for renewable
energy projects. The Interior Department is also establishing
four new Renewable Energy Coordination Offices to help cut
through the red tape.

Drawing in part on Recovery Act funds, DOE plans to invest
$777 million to support 46 new Energy Frontier Research
Centers for the next five years. The new centers will study
top energy challenges such as solar energy, biofuels,
solid-state lighting, hydrogen storage, and electrical energy
storage.

In an update to the ,
DOE’s Energy Information Administration (EIA) projects that
the American Reinvestment and Recovery Act will provide a
near-term jump in renewable power generation and a
long-term reduction in residential and commercial energy use.