US to hand out $3 billion in Renewable energy projects

By Sabine Lobnig, Aug 18, 2009, 16:47 1 minute reading

This week, the U.S. Department of Treasury and the U.S. Department of Energy (DoE) announced that an estimated $3 billion would be allocated to renewable projects around the country. The created moment in the US could be beneficial for natural refrigerant heating applications in the future.

As part of the US Recovery Act, direct payment will be made for some 5,000 projects that create and place in service renewable energy facilities. Past tax cuts had helped greener technologies come faster to market.

Clean energy

Much hope has been placed on the new collaboration between Treasury and Energy to green both the economy and develop cleaner energies. The Treasury has been authorised to make direct payment of a portion of the property expense while applicants would agree to forgo tax credits down the line.

“The renewable energy program provides another important avenue for the Recovery Act to contribute to economic development in communities around the country. It will provide additional stimulus to economies in urban and rural America by helping to develop domestic sources of clean energy. This partnership between Treasury and Energy will enable both large companies and small businesses to invest in our long-term energy needs, protect our environment, and revitalize our nation’s economy,” said Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner.

Greener technologies

Energy Secretary Steven Chu is confident this scheme will help spur major private sector investments in clean energy thus creating green jobs in a bid to double the US renewable energy capacity by 2015. Such incentives will result in broader uptake of environmentally friendly technologies and could pave the way for wider market penetration highly environmentally sound technologies such as hydrocarbon heat pumps, and other natural refrigerant solutions.

MORE INFORMATION

By Sabine Lobnig

Aug 18, 2009, 16:47




Related stories

Sign up to our Newsletter

Fill in the details below