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U.S. Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner and Energy Secretary Steven Chu this week hosted a group of clean energy developers and manufacturers at the White House to discuss how the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (Recovery Act) is creating jobs and helping expand the development of clean, renewable domestic energy.
Under this program, the federal government provides a cash payment in lieu of a tax credit totaling 30 percent of the qualifying cost of the project; for each federal dollar spent in payments, more than two dollars are spent in private sector investments.
At the meeting, Secretaries Geithner and Chu announced US $550 million in new awards 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.
“These investments are crucial to ensuring America can compete and win in the race for the clean energy jobs of the future. With American workers and American innovation, we can and must lead the world when it comes to the new Industrial Revolution in clean energy,” said Secretary Chu.
Created under Section 1603 of the Recovery Act, the program provides cash assistance to energy producers in place of tax credits. Under this program, the federal government provides a cash payment in lieu of a tax credit totaling 30 percent of the qualifying cost of the project; for each federal dollar spent in payments, more than two dollars are spent in private sector investments. The first round of awards, totaling $502 million was announced on September 1.
Project developers receiving awards through this program participated in the meeting, including Ameresco, First Wind, Horizon Wind and SunEdison. Also participating were several renewables manufacturers including Cardinal Fastener, GE Energy, Gamesa, Solyndra and Vestas.
As part of the first round of grant funding, more than $74 million was awarded to First Wind’s 125-MW Cohocton Wind projects in New York and more than $40 million was awarded to First Wind’s 57 MW Stetson Wind project in Maine.
“We expect these grants will have a significant economic impact – not just for First Wind, but for the industry overall. We intend to reinvest funds to accelerate the development of new renewable projects that will create jobs, generate clean power, and help the United States gain energy independence,” said Paul Gaynor, CEO of First Wind.
The following is a chart of the 25 projects that qualified for awards as part of today’s announcement.
| State | Project/Subsidiary | Location | Amount |
|---|---|---|---|
| California | Bob's Big Boy, LLC | Burbank, California | $53,648 |
| California | Ameresco Half Moon Bay, LLC | Half Moon Bay, California | $6,641,747 |
| California | Ameresco Keller Canyon, LLC | Pittsburg, California | $2,796,377 |
| California | BioFuel Oasis Cooperative, Inc | Berkely, California | $16,858 |
| Colorado | 5135 Company | Denver, Colorado | $23,130 |
| Florida | Conditioned Air Corporation of Naples | Naples, Florida | $50,250 |
| Hawaii | Two Daughters | Kihei, Hawaii | $15,150 |
| Iowa | Barton Wind Farm | Kinsett, Iowa | $93,419,883 |
| Minnesota | BI | Minneapolis, Minnesota | $25,649 |
| Minnesota | Spruce Tree Centre | St. Paul, Minnesota | $107,764 |
| Missouri | Farmers City Wind Farm | Tarkio, Missouri | $84,959,857 |
| Missouri | Ameresco Jefferson City, LLC | Jefferson City, Missouri | $2,300,244 |
| North Carolina | Solar Billboard Property | Bolivia, North Carolina | $5,850 |
| New Jersey | Meadowlands Exposition Center | Secaucus, New Jersey | $767,937 |
| New Jersey | EHT Leasing, LLC | Egg Harbor Township | $118,560 |
| New Jersey | OC Kearny | Kearny, New Jersey | $992,006 |
| Nevada | Enel Salt Wells, LLC | Fallon, Nevada | $21,196,478 |
| Nevada | Enel Stillwater, LLC | Fallon, Nevada | $40,324,394 |
| New York | OP 110 E. 59th St. CHP | New York, New York | $415,774 |
| South Dakota | Impervious Energy Systems, LLC | Whitewood, South Dakota | $31,511 |
| Texas | Barton Chapel Wind Farm | Jacksboro, Texas | $72,573,627 |
| Texas | Rio Grande Valley Sugar Growers, Inc. | Santa Rosa, Texas | $10,232,261 |
| Texas | Bull Creek Wind, LLC | O'Donnell, Texas | $91,390,497 |
| Texas | Pyron Wind Farm, LLC | Roscoe, Texas | $121,903,306 |
| Vermont | Wheeler Brook Apartments | Warren, Vermont | $19,155 |
| $550,381,913 | |||
The American Wind Energy Association (AWEA) welcomed the release of the second round of renewable energy grants.
“We continue to see business activity picking up within the wind industry, with turbine and parts orders being sent all the way up the value chain,” said Rob Gramlich, AWEA's senior vice president for Public Policy. “The support provided by Congress and the Administration is visibly helping our industry recover from the economic meltdown. We especially appreciate the efficiency that the Departments of the Treasury and Energy have demonstrated in getting these urgently needed funds out the door.”
Check back with RenewableEnergyWorld.com for more industry reaction and more information about the projects awarded grants in the coming days.
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