How Stimulating was it?

It’s been discussed and dismissed, vilified and valued, amended and abridged, marked up and mocked, and finally slimmed down and signed into law.  HR1, the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009/President Obama’s $787B Stimulus Package, is now a reality and contains some $60 billion for renewable energy.  Here’s a snapshot of its renewable energy provisions, and some links to documents covering the bill in greater detail:

• Tax Incentives and Credits - $20B: This includes costs associated with extensions for the production tax credit, investment tax credit and tax credit cap removal for solar hot water, as well as a new Treasury grant program worth 30% of the cost of, for example, a solar system (the downturn in the economy had reduced the value of the credits, or rendered them nugatory for many 3rd-party investors);  it also includes $3.2B for energy conservation bonds and $1.6B for new renewable energy bonds to finance wind, geothermal, biomass, and landfill gas projects.

• Subsidized Renewable Energy Financing: This allows recipients to receive the full amount of a solar tax credit, even if they are also receiving subsidized energy financing.

• Energy Efficiency and Conservation - $14.4B: These funds would go to the DOE for programs authorized under the Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007, including energy efficiency and conservation block grants. $4.2B of these funds would provide grants to states to adopt renewable energy and energy efficiency technologies as well as funding for state energy offices.*

• Electricity Delivery and Energy Reliability - $11B: The upgrade of the U.S. electrical transmission system is a central feature of the bill and $4.5B is specifically set aside for smart grid investment. The remaining $6.5B is set aside to increase the borrowing capacity of the Western Power Administration and the Bonneville Power Administration to expand and upgrade grid interconnections for renewable generation.

• Technology Loan Guarantee Program - $6B: This funding would establish a new loan guarantee program for renewable generation and transmission technologies which is expected to support $60 billion worth of loan guarantees.

• Solar on Federal Property - $5.5B: This funding covers expenditures to construct, repair and make alterations on federal buildings to increase energy efficiency, including installing solar energy equipment.

• Advanced Battery Manufacturing and Alternative Vehicles - $2.5B: $2B of this funding is provided to support the manufacture of advanced battery systems. An additional $300M is set aside for the procurement of alternative vehicles for federal fleets and another $200M for public transit agencies.

• Renewable Energy Manufacturing Investment Credit - $2.3B: This funds a 30 percent investment tax credit for manufacturing assets used to manufacture advanced energy property.

• New Clean Renewable Energy Bonds (CREBs) - $1.6B: This finances facilities that generate electricity from renewable energy sources, including solar.

Below are some links to various analyses of HR1, some more specific than others, but all with a focus on clean energy provisions:

Industry Overview Report  Stimulus Bill Piper Jaffray

Executive Summary of Key Provisions Benefiting Solar Energy Industry Solar Energy Industries Association

Renewable Energy World report, Feb 18, 2009

Analysis of Renewable Energy Provisions in Stimulus Bill Bowditch & Dewey

*This is in addition to $3.1B allocated to state programs managed through DOE’s Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy