Renewable Energy

Floor Speech

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Mr. WHITEHOUSE. Madam President, I am here to draw attention to what I consider to be an urgent need that we include an extension of the Treasury grant program for renewable energy projects in any upcoming tax legislation considered by the Senate. These are called 1603 grants because they were created by section 1603 of the Recovery Act. This grant program has been vital to the renewable energy industry, which creates jobs, promotes energy independence, and is a vital foundation of the emerging clean energy revolution.

Section 1603 of the Recovery Act allows for cash grants in place of the 30-percent investment tax credit for renewable energy projects. That direct cash payment provides an immediate jump-start to renewable energy projects. Many renewable energy projects were funded using what were called tax equity partnerships, and much of this funding dried up during the recent credit crunch.

The 1603 grant program is a lifeline to renewable energy developers, and it has allowed hundreds of projects to go forward that otherwise would have stumbled or failed. According to the American Wind Energy Association, the cash grants enabled the construction of 10,000 megawatts of new wind capacity in 2009, while just 4,000 megawatts would have been built without the program.

The transition for America to a clean energy economy is long past due. This country has run on the same fuel at basically the same efficiency levels since the start of the Industrial Revolution at the Slater Mill in Pawtucket, RI. This was acceptable maybe in 1900, perhaps even in 1950, but where does it leave us today in 2010? Sadly, it leaves us behind the international competitive curve.

The next big economic revolution--the green, clean energy revolution--will dwarf the digital revolution in terms of jobs and wealth creation. We have heard testimony in this Senate that the Internet is a $1 trillion industry worldwide, while energy is expected to be a $6 trillion energy industry. That means jobs. We know other countries are making significant investments in clean energy to claim those jobs and to claim a commanding position in the race for leadership to a clean energy future for our planet.

Half of America's existing wind turbines were manufactured overseas. Of the two wind turbines installed in Portsmouth, RI, one was manufactured by a Danish company and the other by an Austrian company. Meanwhile, our pace of wind turbine installation is also lagging behind. It looks like in 2010, the United States will have installed about one-eighth of the wind power installed by Germany. The United States invented the first solar cell, but we now rank fifth among countries that manufacture solar components. The United States is home to only 1 of the top 10 companies manufacturing solar energy components and to only 1 of the top 10 companies manufacturing wind turbines.

Companies in other countries see the demand for clean energy, and they are moving swiftly ahead of us in the race to meet that demand. An extension of the section 1603 Treasury grant program would help us create and sustain jobs and build the foundation for our long-term economic growth.

A study by Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory found that wind energy projects made possible by section 1603 were responsible for more than 55,000 jobs. Extending the grant program would continue this impressive job creation in a sector of promising growth and at a time when it is desperately needed.

Already I have seen the seeds of green innovation take root in Rhode Island. The U.S. Navy is decommissioning part of a naval station in Newport that it no longer needs. Instead of that land going to waste, a Portsmouth developer is planning to convert 85 of these acres for a large solar power energy project. His plans also include an incubator space for renewable energy projects and a green technology museum.

We have a company based in East Greenwich that develops renewable energy technologies and products to maximize energy efficiency. In the past year, the company has filed for patent protection on three different renewable energy technologies, including an exciting new technology that will generate electrical power from wind turbines mounted on boats and marinas.

Another example is Hodges Badge, the largest manufacturer of ribbons, buttons, and medals in the country. It is located in Portsmouth. If your kids have ever won a ribbon at a track meet or a horse show or some other competition, it was probably made at Hodges Badge in Portsmouth. This family-owned company is on track to become the first manufacturer in Rhode Island powered entirely by clean energy, having just broken ground this month on installation of a 149-foot tall wind turbine behind the factory.

Company President Eric Hodges said:

It'll be nice to say we're first, that we're 100-percent renewable. It's a nice marketing message. But really it's because it's the right thing to do.

Putting up the turbine will cost about $900,000 and Hodges readily admits that he wouldn't have pursued the project if it were not for renewable energy grants from the State and Federal Government. That project and its jobs would be lost. Hodges Badge does the type of traditional manufacturing that Rhode Island has unfortunately been losing for decades, that our country has been losing for decades. Finding a way to save on energy is one way to ensure this company, which has 95 employees in Rhode Island, can succeed and doesn't leave our State. Extending the section 1603 program would proliferate hundreds of small renewable projects across the country.

For example, in Rhode Island the program would help a 100-kilowatt project at a low-income housing project in Portsmouth, a 1.5-megawatt project at a water treatment facility in Jamestown, and a 300-kilowatt solar project in Wakefield. Without the grant program, these types of projects and the jobs associated with them would dry up. That goes for large-scale projects too. A renewable energy company in Rhode Island has proposed the country's largest offshore wind farm off the coast of Rhode Island, a 200-turbine, 1,000-megawatt project with a goal of starting construction in 2014. This impressive project would provide power to States all along the east coast. We cannot let innovative projects such as these, job-creating projects such as these, entrepreneurial projects such as these, be stopped in their tracks by this bill.

What would extending the Treasury grant program cost? The tax cuts for wealthy Americans that are part of the newly announced tax deal would pay for the extension of the Treasury grant program supporting these renewable jobs 20 times over.

It is time for us to lead again. Just imagine if every one of the wind turbines to be sited in Rhode Island waters and all up and down the Atlantic coast was manufactured in the United States or imagine if we converted brownfields across the country to solar farms, creating a profitable use for this property and bringing jobs to blighted neighborhoods or finally, for a minute, imagine 1 million more manufacturing facilities like Hodges Badge running their assembly lines entirely on solar, wind, geothermal and other renewable energy sources and no longer being held hostage to rising fuel costs. A clean energy economy beckons with vast promise and jobs, efficiencies, and entrepreneurship. We must not, we cannot ignore the call.

I urge our leaders to include in any tax compromise we take up an extension of the renewable energy tax credits and the 1603 program.

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