Renewable Energy and Green Building Industries Applaud Economic Recovery Package

By Barton Reppert, Washington Correspondent WASHINGTON – February 18, 2009 – From Washington to Silicon Valley the heads of the renewable energy and green building industries, along with all the companies they represent are uniformly enthusiastic about the congressional passage and signing by President Barack Obama of the $787 billion American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA).

At a bill-signing ceremony in Denver on February 17, Obama declared: “Because we know we can’t power America’s future on energy that’s controlled by foreign dictators, we are taking big steps down the road to energy independence, laying the groundwork for new green energy economies that can create countless well-paying jobs. It’s an investment that will double the amount of renewable energy produced over the next three years. . . . Provide tax credits and loan guarantees to companies like Namaste, a company that will be expanding instead of laying people off, as a result of the plan that I’m about to sign.”

The President also observed that “what I’m signing . . . is a balanced plan of tax cuts and investments. It’s a plan that’s been put together without earmarks or the usual pork barrel spending. It’s a plan that will be implemented with an unprecedented level of transparency and accountability.”

Prior to the bill signing at the Denver Museum of Nature and Science, Obama and Vice President Joseph Biden were given a tour of solar panels atop the museum by Blake Jones, chief executive of Namaste Solar Electric Inc. of Boulder, which has installed more than 500 solar systems in Colorado since 2006. Over the period the company has grown from three to 55 employees, but the recession has posed the possibility of layoffs. But due to the stimulus package in place, Jones said that he expects to add more than 20 jobs in the next two years.

Jason Hartke, director of advocacy and public policy for the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC), told Zero Energy News with regard to the federal stimulus package: “We think it’s a good down payment on the green economy. We’re very happy that the administration and the leadership in Congress recognized that green buildings will be part of the solution to the economic recovery – [and also recognized] that green buildings in many ways are at the nexus of helping to create jobs, save energy and save money. So in that regard, we’re very happy.”

Rhone Resch, president and CEO of the Solar Energy Industries Association (SEIA) said in a statement: “I applaud President Obama for his leadership in crafting an economic recovery bill that will put the country back on track as the economic leader of the world. It is fitting that he has decided to sign the bill into law in a state-of-the-art building, powered by solar energy.”

Resch asserted that “the solar industry is poised to lead the new, clean energy economy and the strong solar provisions in this legislation will help give hundreds of thousands of out-of-work Americans a job that they can be proud of. The solar energy provisions in this bill will help create 60,000 jobs in the solar industry in 2009 alone and a total of 110,000 over the next two years.”

At the same time, the SEIA chief executive cautioned that “this stimulus bill alone won’t sustain the clean energy economy that is our future. We encourage Congress and the Obama Administration to implement long-term policies that will make clean solar energy available to every American. We need policies like a national renewable portfolio standard with specific mandates for solar, investment in our transmission infrastructure and a way to address climate change that gives credit to clean sources like solar and reinvests proceeds to increase solar installation.”

Denise Bode, CEO of the American Wind Energy Association (AWEA) said in a statement keyed to approval of the stimulus legislation: “The U.S. wind energy is grateful to Congress and the President for taking the important step to secure an economic recovery that includes a strong focus on renewable energy. We are thankful to be called upon, and ready to deliver. Wind power will create jobs by the thousands today and help build the vibrant, clean energy economy of tomorrow.”

According to AWEA, the U.S. wind energy during 2008 installed about 42 percent of all the new electric generating capacity added that year and created 35,000 jobs, primarily in construction and manufacturing.

The National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) announced that it has launched a newly designed Web site (www.federalhousingtaxcredit.com) to provide detailed information about the $8,000 tax credit for first-time home buyers that is among key provisions of the stimulus package.

“The new tax credit provides a great opportunity for first-time home buyers,” said Joe Robson, NAHB chairman and a home builder from Tulsa, Okla. “Combined with today’s near record low interest rates, the large selection of homes on the market, and very competitive pricing, the tax credit should be the extra incentive needed to get prospective buyers who had been sitting on the fence into the market.”

Other provisions of the stimulus legislation include:

 Renewable energy grants program. Creates a new program through the Treasury Department that provides grants equal to 30 percent of the cost of solar property placed in service during 2009 and 2010, in lieu of a section 48 investment tax credit.

 Renewable energy loan guarantee program. Establishes a temporary Department of Energy loan guarantee program for renewable energy projects, renewable energy manufacturing facilities and electric power transmission projects. Appropriates $6 billion to pay the credit subsidy costs, which should support $60 billion worth of loan guarantees..

 Renewable energy manufacturing investment credit. Provides up to $2.3 billion to fund 30 percent investment tax credit for manufacturing assets used to manufacture advanced energy property. Projects must by certified by the Treasury, in conjunction with the Secretary of Energy, through a competitive application process

The ARRA comes at a critical moment for the renewable energy industry. In October of 2008 with the approval of energy tax credits for both wind and solar as part of a omnibus spending bill, the industries were celebrating. The measure extended tax credits that were due to expire, and for the first time added credits for small scale wind. But the celebration didn’t last long. As the economy stalled, and new housing starts virtually stopped, there were few takers for the new credits. As a result, companies that had been adding staff and expanding production not only put those plans on hold, but in some cases began laying off. Lyndon Rive, the CEO of solar panel integrator SolarCity, told Zero Energy News that his business was forced to suspend expansion plans because the lack of liquidity in the credit markets meant there was no funding for the kinds of projects that could take advantage of the tax credit extension.

While the ARRA does provide funding for new renewable technologies, some in the industry are concerned that without an overall economic recovery, including recovery in the new housing market, the impact of the new funding will not be sustainable. Said one unidentified industry executive, “if the builders don’t build, and the utility companies can’t afford to invest, this could very quickly become the renewable version of ‘a bridge to nowhere’.”