September 28, 2009—The U.S. Treasury Department and Department of Energy (DOE) announced on September 22 that $550 million in new cash assistance awards (in lieu of earned federal tax credits) through the Recovery Act’s 1603 program, bringing the total to more than $1 billion awarded to-date to companies committed to investing in domestic renewable energy production.
The awards are designed to provide additional upfront capital for renewable energy projects, enabling companies to create jobs and begin construction on projects that may have been stalled until now. Overall, the program is expected to provide more than $3 billion in financial support for clean energy projects by providing direct payments rather than federal tax credits.
The 25 projects qualifying for this round include five large wind farms, as well as biomass, solar, and geothermal energy facilities, plus a project that uses microturbines for combined heat and power. Awards went to projects located in California, Colorado, Florida, Hawaii, Iowa, Minnesota, Missouri, Nevada, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, South Dakota, Texas, and Vermont.
Examples of projects include:
- Solyndra is helping to provide energy to a building in downtown Denver, CO through solar panels on the roof, a project made possible by Recovery Act payments.
- At a site in Pittsburgh, CA, Ameresco is using a landfill to provide power to the City of Palo Alto. Payments awarded because of this project will allow Ameresco to accelerate its development of renewable energy projects by a minimum of four more domestic projects a year.
- Vestas Americas has made a significant investment in developing renewable energy in the U.S. The company has allocated $1 billion for new manufacturing facilities throughout the country, and the 1603 program will allow these facilities to be fully operational by 2011.
For more information, see the DOE Web site.
