Recommendations for energy innovation: Opportunities for DOE demonstration programs

The Clean Air Task Force recommends that the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) standardize application processes, increase staffing levels in the Office of Clean Energy Demonstrations (OCED), and decouple community benefits planning from initial project negotiations to improve the delivery of clean energy demonstration projects.

• The DOE's Office of Clean Energy Demonstrations (OCED) is understaffed, with a count of 250 as of August 2024, which is 101 positions fewer than the office's identified need for full staffing.
• Current community benefits plans (CBPs) are criticized for being non-binding frameworks rather than detailed plans, and because they are integrated into private negotiations between applicants and the DOE, many stakeholders remain unaware of the process.
• The DOE should improve efficiency by standardizing application and negotiation processes across different offices and reducing the size and complexity of Funding Opportunity Announcements (FOAs) and notice of funding opportunities (NOFOs).
• While the Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE) has evolving evaluation protocols, the OCED lacks established program evaluation protocols to measure success and learn from performance.
• The DOE is encouraged to increase data transparency regarding demonstration projects to accelerate market liftoff for energy technologies and lower future risks and costs for the private sector.

APA

Reuter, H., Wymer, J., & Krupnick, A. (2024). Recommendations for energy innovation: Opportunities for DOE demonstration programs. Clean Air Task Force. https://www.catf.us/2024/12/recommendations-energy-innovation-opportunities-doe-demonstration-programs/

Chicago

Reuter, Holly, Jess Wymer, and Alan Krupnick. Recommendations for energy innovation: Opportunities for DOE demonstration programs. Clean Air Task Force, 2024. https://www.catf.us/2024/12/recommendations-energy-innovation-opportunities-doe-demonstration-programs/.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Reuter |first1=Holly |last2=Wymer |first2=Jess |last3=Krupnick |first3=Alan |title=Recommendations for energy innovation: Opportunities for DOE demonstration programs |publisher=Clean Air Task Force |date=30 December 2024 |url=https://www.catf.us/2024/12/recommendations-energy-innovation-opportunities-doe-demonstration-programs/ |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{reuter2024recommendations, author = {Reuter, Holly and Wymer, Jess and Krupnick, Alan}, title = {{Recommendations for energy innovation: Opportunities for DOE demonstration programs}}, institution = {Clean Air Task Force}, year = {2024}, month = dec, url = {https://www.catf.us/2024/12/recommendations-energy-innovation-opportunities-doe-demonstration-programs/}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }