Obama’s Speech Cites Desire to “Redouble” Investment in Clean Energy
Posted in Smart Grid on August 31st, 2010 by News Desk –
Washington – In a speech about the state of the U.S. economy delivered from the White House oval office on Monday, President Obama cited “redoubling our investment in clean energy” as one of the key steps identified by his administration to promote growth and hiring in the short term and the nation’s economic competitiveness in the long term.
The president provided no specifics during the brief speech about the plan for new clean energy investments, but said he would be addressing the proposal—along with tax incentives and other economic iniatives, “in the days and weeks to come.”
Over the last 20 months the Obama administration has been making significant grants, tax incentives and loan guarantees—some $68 billion total—to clean energy, smart grid, and energy efficiency businesses and initiatives. Those funds have come from the so-called stimulus appropriated in 2009, as the U.S. financial system crisis worsened, through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. But those funds are about to phase out.
Meanwhile, the U.S. economy appears to be teetering on the brink of taking the second slide toward a double-dip recession, a situation that prompted the president to deliver his comments. Other steps that the president said he would like to take include extending tax cuts for the middle class that are set to expire this year; rebuilding more infrastructure; and further tax cuts to encourage businesses to put their capital to work creating jobs in the U.S.
Text of the president’s speech
