Clean Energy Jobs Focus of New Manufacturing Solicitation Issued by the DOE
On August 12, 2010, Energy Secretary Steven Chu announced a new loan guarantee solicitation for renewable energy manufacturing projects. The Commercial Technology Renewable Energy Manufacturing Projects solicitation (the "Solicitation") is supported by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (the "Recovery Act") through Section 1705 of the Loan Guarantee Program and is focused primarily on providing new green energy jobs and the deployment of renewable energy technologies that reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
The solicitation specifically identified "Eligible Projects" to include renewable energy manufacturing projects or facilities located in the United States that:
- Manufactures Commercial Technology products that support the generation of electricity or thermal energy from renewable resources;
- Has Project Costs greater than seventy-five million dollars ($75,000,000);
- Is able to obtain a credit rating equivalent of "BB" or better from Standard & Poor's or Fitch, or "Ba2" or better from Moody's, as evaluated without the benefit of any DOE guarantee or any other credit support;
- Will create or retain jobs in the United States; and
- Otherwise meets all applicable requirements of Title XVII, including Section 1705, the Solicitation, including all attachments and all applicable requirements of the Recovery Act.
The Solicitation also provided, for illustrative purposes, examples of the types of Eligible Projects that may qualify, which include the following:
- wind energy component or systems manufacturing facilities;
- solar photovoltaic (PV) component or system manufacturing facilities;
- concentrated solar power component or system manufacturing facilities;
- hydropower component or system manufacturing facilities;
- geothermal component or system manufacturing facilities;
- other geothermal power cycle component or system manufacturing facilities; or
- ocean wave, tidal, and river current (e.g. hydrokinetic) component or system manufacturing facilities
Of primary importance for any potential applicants under this Solicitation is the timeline for making application and the requirement that projects commence construction no later than September 30, 2011. Specifically, the Solicitation consists of a two-step process with rolling deadlines. The first Part I deadline is September 30, 2010, and the first Part II deadline is November 30, 2010. Final Part I applications are due November 30, 2010 and final Part II applications are due January 31, 2011. Applicants are strongly encouraged to get their applications in early -- particularly in light of the commence construction deadline. In addition, the DOE will make available up to $750 million to pay the credit subsidy costs of loan guarantees issued through this solicitation.
It should be noted that the DOE recently implemented a number of improvements to its loan guarantee program that will help facilitate a more efficient application process through the launch of a "user-friendly" online application portal. The application portal can be accessed directly from the DOE's loan guarantee program website. According to the DOE, this on-line application system is designed to:
- guide the applicant through the development and submission of a loan or loan guarantee application;
- assist the applicant in determining basic program eligibility;
- assist the applicant in preparing an application suitable for DOE review;
- highlight areas of the applicant’s proposal that may require additional information; and
- provide the applicant with guidance on how to prepare a stronger application.
Show Me The Money: $2.3 Billion for Clean-Tech Manufacturing Jobs
January 8, 2010: today President Obama announced the award of $2.3 billion in American Reinvestment and Recovery Act (“ARRA”) Advanced Energy Manufacturing Tax Credits for tens of thousands of clean energy jobs on 183 clean energy manufacturing projects across the 43 states. United States, including the domestic manufacture of wind turbine and solar panels. The tax credits will support job creation in the domestic clean tech manufacturing industry and are a step towards meeting the President's goal of doubling the US’ use of renewable energy in the next three years.
EPA's Region 10 Awards over $1.6M to Portland to Reduce Diesel Emissions
Similar to the July 21, 2009 U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's ("EPA") Region 5 award, EPA's Region 10 has awarded over $1.6 million to reduce emissions from Portland municipal fleet vehicles and construction contractor equipment. The funds are provided under the American Reinvestment and Recovery Act of 2009 ("ARRA") National Clean Diesel Funding Assistance Program. Under this funding competition, EPA Region 10 received over 49 grant applications requesting over $80 million to help fund clean diesel emission projects.
In addition to reducing diesel emissions from municipal fleet vehicles and construction contractor equipment, this project will fund installation of fuel operated heaters--and idle reduction technology--on 247 vehicles in Portland and Multnomah County diesel fleets as a strategy for reducing diesel emissions while also decreasing fuel costs and climate pollution.
EPA estimates that this award will create or sustain an estimated 34 manufacturing and local installation jobs and will help Oregon municipalities and their contractors decrease operating costs by achieving fuel savings.
The Wind and Solar Power Industries Now Employ Twice the Number of Workers in the U.S. as the Coal Mining Industry
In the midst of an unprecedented amount of bad news surrounding the economy, the robust growth in employment in the wind and solar energy sectors has been receiving a lot of attention. Wind industry jobs have increased 70% over the past year, totaling 85,000 in 2008. These 85,000 jobs in the wind industry include some 13,000 manufacturing jobs, many of which are being filled by workers who lost jobs in other manufacturing industries, like the steel industry. Similarly, the solar industry employs more than 80,000 workers in the U.S.
CNNMoney.com ran an article earlier this week noting that the wind industry now outstrips the coal mining industry in number of workers. The article, “Wind Jobs Outstrips Coal,” noted that the coal mining and extraction industry employs about 81,000 workers. According to a 2007 U.S. Department of Energy report cited in the article, these numbers have been steady in recent years, but are down nearly 50% since 1986. Estimates for the total direct employment in the U.S. coal industry range from 136,000 to 174,000 workers, and includes those who mine coal, haul it by rail, barge and truck, and who operate and maintain coal-fired power plants. Thus, the solar and wind energy sectors have quickly caught up the coal industry in terms of overall employment and will soon surpass the coal industry in total employment.
These facts demonstrate the potential of renewable energy to lead the country’s economic recovery when you consider that renewable energy currently supplies a tiny portion of the nation’s electricity supply—about 3 percent—compared to coal, which supplies about 50 percent of our electricity.
