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from such resources. In FY 1987, the experimental extraction of heat from the large fractured reservoir at Fenton Hill, New Mexico, will begin and research on improved diagnostic technologies including microseismic measurements will be extended to higher temperatures.

Geothermal Resources Development Fund

The Geothermal Resources Development Fund was established to broaden the geothermal energy technology base by guaranteeing loans for private sector development of several state-of-the-art facilities. The FY 1987 request is $72,000, which allows for evaluating projects, restructuring existing guarantee agreements, and monitoring outstanding loans.

Hydropower

Small-scale hydropower technology is nearing maturity and the DOE program has succeeded in providing the necessary technology base to industry. Therefore, no funds are requested for FY 1987. Ongoing contracted analytical and technical support will begin to phase out. The remaining technology development and R&D projects will then be monitored by DOE personnel to ensure that contractual and reporting requirements are met. By the end of FY 1986, seventeen of the nineteen technology development projects will be on-line, with the remaining 2 becoming operational in FY 1987. The low-cost crossflow turbine and free-flow turbine R&D projects are expected to go on-line in FY 1986 and the siphon penstock R&D project will be operational in FY 1987.

Electric Energy Systems

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The Electric Energy Systems Program conducts research to establish a technology base that will lead to advanced concepts and materials that will enable future electric networks to meet the national security need for a reliable electric supply while maintaining the health and safety of society. The Program supports research to resolve mid- to long-term problems in order to ensure that the biological health effects and risks to life forms exposed to high-voltage electric and magnetic fields are well understood and mitigated; to provide options that will ensure appropriate system reliability and promote the efficient use of resources in the Nation's future electric network; to provide electric power over a wide range of system conditions including both normal and emergency situations; and to improve the efficiency of electric systems through the development of new materials, advanced controls, and new design concepts. The FY 1987 budget request is $7.6 million for operating expenses.

Researchers in reliability R&D activities will continue to assess the potential impact of a nuclear electromagnetic pulse on the Nation's electric network and to provide advanced techniques for control and protection of systems during normal and abnormal operations. In FY 1987 the reliability research will include a second-level impacts assessment.

Funds requested in the systems technology research activity are required to meet contractual obligations to complete several current programs. New materials research will be carried out on liquid dielectrics and semiconductors.

Energy Storage

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The Energy Storage program is developing a technology base for advanced energy storage and conversion systems that will facilitate the use of abundant and intermittent energy sources. Three promising energy storage technologies are now being pursued: battery (electrochemical), thermal, and chemical/hydrogen. The FY 1987 budget request for the Energy Storage program is $8.6 million.

The battery storage technology base research activities encompass fundamental research with the objective of providing the basis for improvements in efficiency, power density, energy density, and lifetime in new electrochemical couples and small-scale fuel cells. In FY 1987, the aims of the technology base research will be to provide a better understanding of the complex phenomena that determine electrochemical activity; explore new electrochemical couples with improved performance characteristics; develop improved materials and new components for advanced battery technologies to solve key technical problems; and identify new, low-cost catalysts for electrochemical energy conversion systems.

The objectives of the advanced development activity include development and evaluation of high-performance, long-life, economical batteries for future mobile and stationary energy storage applications. In FY 1987, the exploratory technology development activities will concentrate on investigating key problems in sodium/sulfur batteries which have the potential for providing up to five times the energy storage capability of conventional batteries. Research will include identifying new materials and designs for electrolytes and electrodes.

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The thermal and mechanical energy storage activity will provide the technical underpinning for the more effective use of thermal energy sources and improving the efficiencies of chemical/hydrogen production and storage. Activities in FY 1987 will emphasize chemical/hydrogen research on high-temperature electrolysis and advanced storage options to achieve lower cost in hydrogen liquefaction. The thermal storage program will conduct research on form-stable phase-change materials in the high-temperature range and will explore advanced storage concepts.

CONCLUSION

Mr. Chairman, I believe that the budget that I have summarized will contribute to increased energy supply diversity and end-use efficiency and should serve to promote increased competition in the marketplace. I believe that this budget request will allow us to address the items of highest priority in research and development in the fields of energy conservation and renewable energy and thereby contribute to the accomplishment of our national goal of fostering an adequate supply of energy at reasonable cost. This is a budget which I believe seriously recognizes today's fiscal responsibilities, as well as tomorrow's anticipated needs.

Senator DOMENICI. Thank you very much.

Acting Secretary Bauer, we will make your testimony part of the record. If you would like to summarize it, we would appreciate it.

STATEMENT OF DONALD L. BAUER, ACTING ASSISTANT SECRETARY, FOSSIL ENERGY, DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY Mr. BAUER. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. It is also my pleasure to appear before the subcommittee in support of the fiscal year 1987 budget for fossil energy.

The administration's proposed budget for fiscal year 1987 is $150.1 million in total budget authority. The request was fashioned from the same fiscal principles and goals that made up the President's overall budget submission. That is, a budget submission that meets the targets imposed by the Gramm-Rudman-Hollings legislation.

The fossil energy budget request would also maintain adequate spending levels for those functions that would not otherwise be performed by the private sector; that is, the generic high risk, longterm research.

It also ensures that adequate funds are available for research that benefits the general population; for example, the Federal assistance for those technologies that can economically manage the environmental impacts of fossil fuels. It will continue to build on a broad base of scientific data that will help shape the fossil fuel technologies of the 21st century.

Perhaps more importantly, by reflecting the administration's commitment to fiscal constraint, the fiscal year 1987 budget for fossil energy will do its fair share in helping bring Federal spending under control. The $150-plus million will be offset by $67 million in prior year funds and construction program transfers; therefore, the new budget authority amounts to just under $83 million. Included in our budget request this year is a new initiative for a cooperative R&D venture in fossil energy. This approach would be used in the applied research area, focusing on general categories of extraction-related technologies that we believe will attract significant industrial interest.

These technologies initially will include unconventional gas recovery, enhanced oil recovery, oil shale processing and underground coal gasification. This initiative that we have is intended to give the private sector a greater role in establishing the Federal R&D priorities. It will help us ensure that tax dollars are applied to those research efforts that are most relevant to the trends and objectives of the marketplace. It will also assist in the transfer of taxpayer-supported technology from the Government to industry. It will provide greater leverage for Federal funds by increasing private sector cost sharing.

We recognize that additional details must be developed before the initiative can be implemented; therefore, we intend to work closely with Congress in developing this approach and provide to you the results of that as we go on with the implementation.

I should also mention, Mr. Chairman, that in addition to the funds requested for conducting the fundamental research and development efforts in fossil energy, the Department will also be car