[Congressional Record Volume 156, Number 162 (Thursday, December 9, 2010)]
[Senate]
[Pages S8688-S8689]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                            RENEWABLE ENERGY

  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.

[[Page S8689]]

  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.
  I thank the distinguished Senator from Oregon for his patience and 
yield the floor.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER (Mr. Manchin). The Senator from New Hampshire.

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