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ExpectMore.govExpectMore.gov home pageEXPECT FEDERAL PROGRAMS TO PERFORM WELL, AND BETTER EVERY YEAR.
 
Program Assessment

Program

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Biomass and Biorefinery Systems

This program develops technology for conversion of biomass (material from plants and trees) to fuels, chemicals, materials and power to help reduce U.S. demand for oil. The program funds research, development and demonstration projects carried out by national laboratories, universities, and private companies.

Rating

What This Rating Means

PERFORMING
Adequate

This rating describes a program that needs to set more ambitious goals, achieve better results, improve accountability or strengthen its management practices.
  • The program has not historically used a consistent set of performance measures to evaluate its progress. The program recently established two measures on the cost of producing biomass-derived power and fuel because cost is a key barrier to increased use of biomass. Additional measures are under development.
  • Congressional requirements to fund specific projects (earmarks) have been detrimental to program progress. Earmarks prevent resources from being effectively targeted and competitively awarded for projects that contribute to the program's goals. In recent years, more than 40 percent of program funds have been earmarked annually.
  • This program and other applied research and development programs at the Department of Energy are working to improve their estimates of potential program benefits and use that information to guide budget decisions. The program has made significant progress, but estimates are not yet comparable between programs.

Improvement Plan

About Improvement Plans

We are taking the following actions to improve the performance of the program:

  • Developing additional performance measures to assess technical progress in promoting commercial biorefineries that can produce fuels, chemicals, materials, and power from biomass.
  • Working to reduce the number of Congressional earmarks.
  • Developing guidance that specifies a consistent framework for analyzing the cost and benefits of research and development investments, and using this information to guide budget decisions.

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