After several years of discussion, the Congress is finally moving forward to provide funding for an Advanced Research Projects for Energy, or ARPA-E, modeled after DARPA:
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Lawmakers in the U.S. House and Senate said they have agreed to spend $43 billion over three years to double government funding for basic scientific research. That includes funding to create the Advanced Research Projects Agency for Energy or ARPA-E, with an initial budget of $300 million for the fiscal year that begins Oct. 1. *
*ARPA-E, which will be modeled after DARPA, will be part of the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE). The legislation is expected to win approval this week, although it only authorizes funding; separate votes will be needed to fund it. *
*In a conference call today, Sen. Lamar Alexander (R-Tenn.), a key negotiator for the Senate, said the legislation "is in to direct response to the challenge to our country to keep our brainpower advantage at a time when other rapidly growing countries like India and China are increasing their technological initiatives." *
The intent of ARPA-E is to "to look for high-risk, high-rewards type of technology; if we're really going to become energy independent, it's going to take a bump in technology, so this may be the most important energy bill that we will pass," said Rep. Bart Gordon (D-Tenn.), chair of the House Science and Technology Committee and another legislator involved in negotiations.
ARPA-E is a great idea, and very needed, but the real question, as raised by this excellent report of two years ago, is whether the new institution really is set up to succeed. As the authors note, it's not just "high-risk, high-payoff" funding that had made DARPA a success, but rather, several decades of experience working with research communities, the military services, and senior Defense Department leadership.
In other words, throwing money at research isn't enough, you have to be able to manage it.
