$2.3 Billion in Recovery Act Tax Credits for Clean, Green Jobs

The bad news: 85,000 more jobs vanished in December, according to the Department of Labor's most current unemployment numbers. While that's not nearly as bad as the 700,000 jobs that were disappearing monthly at this time last year, it's a clear indicator that the economy still isn't ready to put on its happy face and bounce back as fast as many had hoped. The good news: The Obama administration, hammered by intense criticism of months of depressing unemployment numbers, has kicked loose $2.3 billion in Recovery Act Energy Manufacturing Tax Credits for clean energy jobs, and that's expected to attract additional private capital for a total investment of almost $7.7 billion in high-tech manufacturing. Is it enough to do the trick? We don't know. Is it a big deal? Sounds like it.

President Barack Obama on Friday announced that 183 projects in 43 states will get a total of $2.3 billion in Recovery Act Energy Manufacturing Tax Credits to create "tens of thousands of high quality clean energy jobs." Those jobs will be created in clean energy manufacturing technologies for solar, wind and efficiency and energy management.

The awards, which will support clean and renewable energy projects with American made parts and equipment, actually serve two purposes. Number one: The creation of sorely needed quality, long-term jobs. Number two: It's a significant step toward achieving the President's goal of doubling the renewable energy the country uses within the next three years through Smart Grid technologies such as wind turbines and solar panels.

"Building a robust clean energy sector is how we will create the jobs of the future," President Obama said. "The Recovery Act awards I am announcing today will help close the clean energy gap that has grown between America and other nations while creating good jobs, reducing our carbon emissions and increasing our energy security."

The investment tax credits are worth up to 30% of the total cost of each project and are expected to attract more than $5 billion in additional dollars from private capital bringing the total investment to almost $7.7 billion.  

The projects, selected through a competitive merit review process, target a wide range of clean energy technologies. Some of the projects and the companies that will do the work include:

·         Smart Grid: Itron Inc.'s OpenWay CENTRON meter is one of the first smart meters for residential use that offers built in two-way communications and a remote on/off switch to give consumers more control over their electricity consumption and enable utilities to provide cheaper, more reliable service. The company will expand its manufacturing capacity to build four million meters per year, which Itron says will cut electricity use by about 1.7 million MWh annually.

·         Building Efficiency and Energy Management: W.L. Gore & Associates, Inc., is producing an advanced membrane for high efficiency fuel cells for buildings and vehicles to lower their cost. Gore also is building an advanced turbine filter to improve performance and lower cost and greenhouse gas emissions of gas turbines.

·         Solar Energy: PPG Industries, Inc. will use the tax credits to expand its output of transparent conductive oxide coatings required for the glass used in solar cells, and will produce a double anti-reflective glass coating to make the cells more efficient. PPG also will make a special tire tread component that reduces rolling resistance to improve fuel economy.

·         Wind Energy: TPI Composites Inc. is building a new manufacturing plant to make next-generation wind turbine blades. TPI also will expand its production at an existing plant to meet the expected jump in demand for lighter, stronger and more fuel-efficient composite wind turbine blades.

The projects receiving the tax credits are required to be in service by 2014, but about 30% of them are scheduled to be completed in 2010.

   DOE announcement

   Boston Globe article

   Smart Grid Stimulus channel on SGN

   Smart Grid Jobs toolkit

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