Marking a milestone in the effort to spur private-sector investments in clean energy and create new jobs for U.S. workers, Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner and Energy Secretary Steven Chu have announced $502 million in the first round of awards from an American Recovery and Reinvestment Act program that provides cash assistance to energy-production companies in place of earned tax credits. The new funding creates additional upfront capital, enabling companies to create jobs and begin construction that may have been stalled.
Created under Section 1603 of the Recovery Act, the program is expected to provide more than $3 billion in financial support for clean-energy projects by providing direct payments in lieu of tax credits. These payments will support an estimated 5,000 biomass, solar, wind, and other types of renewable-energy-production facilities. As a result of the first round of funding, more than 2,000 Americans will have access to jobs in the renewable-energy industry.
The following is a list of projects funded as part of the announcement:
Colorado: Movement Gym PV System (Solar), $157,809
Connecticut: Solaire Development LLC, $2,578,717
Maine: Evergreen Wind Power V LLC, $40,441,471
Minnesota: Moraine II Wind Farm, $28,019,520
New York: Canadaigua Power Partners LLC (Wind), $52,352,334
New York: Canadaigua Power Partners II LLC (Wind), $22,296,494
Oregon: Wheat Field Wind Farm, $47,717,155
Oregon: Hay Canyon Wind Farm, $47,092,555
Oregon: Pebble Springs Wind Farm, $46,543,219
Pennsylvania: Highland Wind Farm, $42,204,562
Pennsylvania: Locust Ridge II LLC (Wind), $59,162,064
Texas: Penascal Wind Farm, $114,071,646
Additional program awards will be announced in the coming weeks.