$43 million is allocated for offshore wind and $38 million will go for geothermal research. Gosh, how completely underwhelming. The US still has no offshore wind, which is just sad and an indication of how backwards we are and how unable we are to arrive at agreements. We do have huge geothermal reserves but geothermal – a proven and reliable form of energy – generally gets treated as the idiot stepson of renewable energy. This piddly funding is further demonstration of that.
Thus DOE is spending a total of $81 million for R&D on important forms of renewable energy. Contrast that with the several hundred million a day we spend on our various wars and you can an idea of how deranged our priorities are.
The Geysers in northern California has been produced geothermal power 24/7 for decades.