Fwd: EMBARGOED: Vice President Biden Reports on Recovery Act Progress Building a Clean Energy Economy

THE WHITE HOUSE

Office of the Vice President

 

EMBARGOED UNTIL MIDNIGHT EST

December 14, 2009

 

Vice President Biden Reports on Recovery Act Progress Building a Clean Energy Economy

Memo to President Details Specific Advances Being Made as a Result of Early Foundation Laid by Administration

**Embargoed until Midnight EST**

 

Washington, DC – Vice President Biden has delivered a progress report to President Obama on how the Recovery Act is helping build a cleaner, more energy-efficient economy by tapping homegrown sources of energy.  In his memo to the President, the Vice President reports on specific advances already underway as a result of the foundation the Administration has laid through the Recovery Act and other initiatives, and details how our economy will be transformed by these investments in the coming years.  The Vice President's memo can be viewed HERE. 

 

"I'm pleased to report that the administration is laying the foundation for a clean energy economy that will create a new generation of jobs, reduce dependence on oil and enhance national security," Vice President Biden writes in his memo.  "Through the Recovery Act and more effective use of programs already in existence, the administration is taking the critical steps to transform the United States into a global clean energy leader."

 

The new assessment, which was produced at the request of the Vice President by the White House Office of Energy and Climate Change, the Office of the Vice President, the Council of Economic Advisors and the Department of Energy, details the specific measurable advancements the United States is making in areas ranging from advanced battery production to smart energy meter installation because of clean energy investments through the Recovery Act and other initiatives.  Key findings include:

 

·         Renewable Energy: The U.S. is on-track to double renewable energy generation, including solar, wind and geothermal, and double renewable manufacturing capacity in just three years because of Recovery Act investments. 

 

·         Vehicles and Fuels of the Future: Over the next six years, three new electric vehicles plants—the first ever in the U.S.—and 30 new battery plants will be fully operational because of the Administration's $16 billion investment in plug-in hybrids, all-electric vehicles and the infrastructure needed to power them, as well as new clean fuels.   When President Obama took office there were just 2 advanced battery and electric drive component factories in the U.S.

 

·         Grid Modernization: Twenty-six million smart meters will be installed in U.S. homes by 2013 – more than triple the number currently in service – as a result of the Administration's $4 billion Recovery Act investment in a smart energy grid and the one-to-one match in private sector funding.  This technology allows consumers to monitor and regulate their own energy usage and costs.

 

·         Energy Efficiency: Because the Administration is making the largest single investment in home energy efficiency in U.S history through the Recovery Act and other initiatives, nearly one million home energy efficiency retrofits will have happened by 2012.

 

·         Carbon Capture:  Because of Recovery Act funding and existing loan guarantee authority, there will be 5 commercial scale power plants operating with large carbon capture sequestration facilities by 2015.  When President Obama took office, there were zero.

 

·         Science and Innovation – Through the Recovery Act, the Administration is investing $400 million in some of the most advanced research in wind, solar, and geothermal technologies through the ARPA-E program to make these clean sources of energy more affordable and easier to store and transport.  A year ago, this critical program was unfunded.

 

The clean energy components of the Recovery Act represent the largest single investment in clean energy in U.S. history.  The Vice President's memo notes that the Recovery Act's over $80 billion investment in clean energy technology will produce as much as $150 billion in clean energy projects.  In addition, existing investment programs are expected to produce an additional $90 billion in clean energy projects, for a total of up to $240 billion in clean energy projects to be launched as a result of the early foundation laid by the Administration.  These projects will not only transform the way the country generates and uses energy, but also help make the United States a global leader in the clean energy sector and create new job opportunities in manufacturing and technology.

 

The memo comes as the President prepares to discuss additional clean energy job creation measures in a visit to Home Depot tomorrow and meet with world leaders in Copenhagen on climate change later this week.  The Vice President will also discuss how the United States can leverage investments in clean energy to reinvigorate the manufacturing industry at a Middle Class Task Force event on Wednesday.