Useful Stats: Department of Energy R&D Obligations per State FY2002-2006

Marking the first decline in a decade and despite a then-healthy economy, federal R&D for the Department of Energy (DOE) declined from FY05 to FY06. The percentage of total federal R&D obligations dedicated to DOE R&D also declined from FY05 to FY06.

SSTI has prepared a table displaying the amount of R&D obligations associated with the DOE for each state from FY02 to FY06, the five most recent fiscal years for which data is available. The table also shows the percentage of each state's total federal R&D obligations that come from DOE for each of the five fiscal years. This statistic shows the critical importance of energy research for some states, or for states with large amounts of federal R&D coming in, the degree of diversification in the state's R&D portfolio.

U.S. DOE R&D obligations were $7.56 billion in FY06, which represented 7.0 percent of all federal R&D. Only 12 states bested this percentage, showing the highly concentrated nature of DOE R&D spending. Idaho led the states with $203 million in DOE R&D obligations in FY06, representing 68.4 percent of the state’s total R&D dollars from the federal government. Nevada received 64.4 percent of their federal funding from the DOE, followed by New Mexico (58.1%), Tennessee (34.9%), and Illinois (30.6%). In FY06, 29 states received less than 2 percent of their total federal R&D obligations from the DOE, illustrating the sharp differences between the states.

With Sandia and Los Alamos national laboratories, New Mexico led the country with $1.80 billion from the DOE in FY06, just under one-quarter of all DOE R&D obligations. This was followed by California with $1.55 billion, New York with $710 million, Tennessee at $508 million, and Illinois at $405 million. These five states alone captured two-thirds of all FY06 DOE R&D obligations.

In interpreting the data, states should note that all federally funded energy research does not originate from the Department of Energy. Through the 2009 Recovery Act and subsequent federal budgets, various sources within the federal government can be used to complement strategic investments in energy-related technologies.

The National Science Foundation, the source of this data, defines obligations as “the amounts for orders placed, contracts awarded, services received, and similar transactions during a given period, regardless of when the funds were appropriated and when future payment of money is required. Obligations differ from expenditures in that funds allocated by federal agencies during one fiscal year may be spent by the recipient institution either partially or entirely during one or more subsequent years.“

SSTI's table is available at: http://www.ssti.org/Digest/Tables/110409t.htm.

The original data for each state, including the R&D breakouts for every agency in addition to the DOE, can be found at the NSF's Federal Funds for Research and Development series. They can be accessed at: http://www.nsf.gov/statistics/fedfunds/