MNN - Mother Nature Network

Attention companies in the renewable energy industry, the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) and the U.S. Department of the Treasury are now accepting applications for the more than $3 billion in renewable energy project funding. The money has been made available by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act.

 

The Obama administration has made the environment one of the primary focuses of the Recovery Act. Green jobs will play a part in resolving the economic and environmental crises that this nation faces. Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner commented about the financial crisis causing renewable energy financing to stall. This is unacceptable and so the two governmental agencies have begun to accept applications for renewable energy project funding.

 

“The Recovery Act authorized Treasury to make direct payments to companies that create and place in service renewable energy facilities beginning January 1, 2009. Previously, these companies could file for a tax credit to cover a portion of the renewable energy project's cost; under the new program, applicants would agree to forgo future tax credits in favor of an immediate reimbursement of a portion of the property expense. The Energy Department will assist Treasury in implementing this program by reviewing the technical merits of the applications” Source: DOE

 

Instead of waiting until the end of the fiscal year, companies are now able to get funding up front. As the country’s financial institutions succumbed to the pressure of the nation’s worsening economy, renewable energy funding took a downturn. Now renewable energy companies have a new source of funding to get these projects underway.

 

The U.S. Department of the Treasury has an application for Section 1603 funding available online at the National Renewable Energy Laboratory website. Interested companies can begin filling out the application now.