[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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