February 28, 2013

The Department of Energy's Solid-State Lighting Program

The Department of Energy's (Department) Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy established the Solid-State Lighting Program to advance the development and market introduction of energy-efficient white-light sources for general illumination.  The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 appropriated more than $41 million to accelerate solid-state lighting research and development and jumpstart the manufacturing research and development initiative.  Through competitive solicitations, the Department awarded financial assistance instruments to various recipients each year since the program's inception.  The audit determined that the Department had controls in place, in most instances, to effectively and efficiently manage the Solid-State Lighting Program.  However, certain actions were identified that could improve the Department's management of the Solid-State Lighting Program.  Specifically, we noted that the Department could enhance program operations by ensuring recipients have effective accounting controls and financial systems in place to adequately segregate and accumulate costs, and tracking external audit findings to develop lessons learned for reviewing financial assistance awards.  Therefore, suggestions were made to management for improving management of the Solid-State Lighting Program.

Topic: Financial Assistance