Brown Univ. to receive $1.5 million in fuel cell funding under senate plan for Rhode Island
WASHINGTON, DC – U.S. Senator Jack Reed (D-RI), a member of the Appropriations Committee, announced that the Senate approved legislation including $6.8 million in funding for Rhode Island alternative energy, flood prevention, and water restoration initiatives he requested as part of the 2010 Energy and Water Development spending bill. This kind of research holds the potential for Rhode Island to begin creating new “green” jobs.
“Reliable, affordable energy is critical to the economic well-being of our nation and central to our national security. This bill contains $1.5 million in federal funding to help researchers at URI develop smart energy solutions that could eventually provide consumers with greater access to cheaper, cleaner, renewable energy solutions as well as $1.5 million for clean fuel research,” said Reed, a member of the Appropriations Subcommittee on Energy and Water Development. “I am also pleased that this bill will help restore Rhode Island’s coastal habitats and clean up our waterways. It will help ensure that our communities have infrastructure in place to protect local business and homes from flooding.”
Reed secured funding in the 2010 Energy and Water Development spending bill for several key Rhode Island projects, including:
$1,500,000
Fuel Cell Research
Brown University, Providence, Rhode Island
This federal funding will enable Brown University’s Department of Energy and Science to partner with Draper Laboratories of Cambridge, Massachusetts to develop a prototype fuel cell that does not contain expensive or potentially toxic heavy metals. Senator Reed worked with Senator Whitehouse to secure this funding.
