The Energy Department's proposed $28.4 billion budget includes more than $11 billion for nuclear security and infrastructure and at least $4 billion for clean energy development, Secretary Steven Chu said today.

DOE's 2011 budget would increase funding for the National Nuclear Security Administration by 14 percent over 2010, while non-NNSA programs would see a 2.8 percent increase over last year.

The funding increase for NNSA, which encompasses joint programs with the Defense Department, is in line with what President Obama wants, Chu said, referencing a comment his boss made last April in Prague: "The threat of global nuclear war has gone down, but the risk of a nuclear attack has gone up."

As Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., announced Sunday, the budget eliminates funding for the nuclear waste repository site at Yucca Mountain. DOE has begun the process of withdrawing its application license with the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Chu said, adding that the budget allocates funding to shut down the activities at Yucca and relocate workers currently assigned to the site. The nuclear commission that the agency rolled out on Friday will examine policy options related to long-term nuclear waste storage, but not potential sites to store waste. "The NRC has stipulated that waste and dry cast storage will be safe for half a century," Chu said. "It's time to take a deep breath, and we know a lot more than we did in 1992. We are still moving forward."

The budget also triples the funding for nuclear loan guarantees, adding $36 billion to the $18.5 billion Congress authorized in 2005. This total funding, Chu said, "will be enough to allow seven to 10 reactors built." The loans will serve as a "confidence builder" for the industry, Chu added.

On the debt reduction front, the budget eliminates more than $2.7 million in tax subsidies for oil, coal and natural gas companies. The change, already drawing ire from the fossil fuel industries, would save almost $40 million over the next decade, according to the budget proposal. DOE also canceled a planned expansion of the Strategic Petroleum Reserve, for an estimated savings of $71 million.

Chu is scheduled to testify on the budget to the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee Thursday morning.

More in Energy Go to section

October 04, 2010 | Energy and Environment Bulletin

Is Unpriced Carbon The Next Subprime?

September 02, 2010 | Energy and Environment Bulletin

Dems Seek Answers On Gulf Explosion

September 01, 2010 | Energy and Environment Bulletin

BP Spent Big On Advertising After Spill

August 24, 2010 | Tech Daily Dose

Biden: Stimulus Dollars Fueling Energy and Life-Saving Technology

August 17, 2010 | Insider Interviews

Deepwater Horizon's Enduring Lessons