More and Better: Building and Managing a Federal Energy Demonstration Project Portfolio

Abstract

This report begins by articulating why public funding of demonstration projects is necessary in principle, and then briefly reviews the federal record in practice. Next, it describes the portfolio needed to drive forward on deep decarbonization, which will require the federal government to coinvest in many more demonstration projects. The core of the report delves into how the federal government could better manage the demonstration portfolio by articulating a set of management precepts and applying them to several options. The report concludes by summarizing our analysis and recommendations.