Today Vice President Joe Biden released a memo to the President—Progress Report: The Transformation to a Clean Energy Economy—just in time before he departs for the UN Climate Talks in Copenhagen to show the U.S. and his Administration are serious about moving the World forward to solve the climate crisis. The memo highlights the goals of the $80 billion for clean energy investment from the Recovery Act.
- The Recovery Act investments of $80 billion for clean energy will produce as much as $150 billion in clean energy projects.
- Existing investment programs could produce up to $90 billion in additional clean energy projects.
The Administration has identified particular goals that the Stimulus funds will aim to achieve across each major technology and economic development category. Below I’ve provided a snapshot of our ‘faves’:
Renewable Energy
Recovery Act investments in renewable generation and advanced energy manufacturing of $23 billion will likely create 253,000 jobs and leverage over $43 billion in additional investment that could support up to 469,000 more jobs, putting us on track to meet the goal of doubling our renewable energy generation, including solar, wind and geothermal, in just 3 years.
Energy Efficiency
The Administration is making the largest single investment in home energy efficiency in U.S history. We are on track to weatherize the homes of half a million low income Americans through retrofits by the end of next year.
We are also setting long overdue standards for everyday appliances like refrigerators, microwaves and washer/dryers. About two dozen standards will be finalized over the next few years. We are setting an average of six standards per year, compared to just one per year when we took office. The combined annual savings of these standards is expected to total up to 4% of total US energy consumption in 2030 and carbon dioxide emission reductions equivalent to the output of 30 coal fired power plants.
Advanced Research for Next Generation Renewables, Energy Storage, and Efficiency
Science and technology must provide the foundation for the clean energy economy. We are restoring US leadership in science and technology so we can lead the global competition in clean technology innovation. In 2010, our budget includes $12.6 billion in funding for key science agencies to support advanced research and development at our national labs and universities. In addition, using $400 million in Recovery Act funds we have started the Advanced Research Projects Agency - Energy (ARPA-E) that invests in targeted projects to accelerate the pace of innovation to make advanced energy technologies like energy storage and biofuels dramatically more effective and affordable. This investment includes funds for some of the most advanced research in wind, solar, and geothermal technologies to make these clean sources of energy more efficient and easier to store and transport.
Other notable technologies include cleaner and more efficient vehicles, next generation biofuels, carbon capture and sequestration, grid modernization and nukes. NRDC will continue to engage with federal, state and local agencies, business and other stakeholders to help the Administration rapidly deploy and scale these clean energy technologies and resources in an environmentally responsible and sustainable manner.
