There is a silver lining to every cloud and from the reports I have been reading, the stimulus package is a big dark cloud. So where is the silver lining? Well, let’s look at the green lining as laid out in this Cnet article.
Overall, there is $50 billion for energy programs, much of it focused on energy efficiency and renewable energy, and $20 billion in tax incentives for renewable energy and efficiency, according to a conference report released by House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s office (click for PDF) and an Associated Press analysis. Provisions include:
- $5 billion to weatherize homes of up to 1 million low-income people.
- $11 billion toward smart-grid technologies to run the power grid more efficiently.
- $13.9 billion in loans to subsidize renewable-energy projects and transmission.
- $6.3 billion in state energy-efficient and clean-energy grants.
- $4.5 billion to make federal buildings more energy efficient.
There is $2 billion for advanced battery manufacturing and over $2 billion for carbon capture and storage demonstration projects, according to a Wall Street Journal comparison of the House and Senate versions.
The bill has $400 million in spending to create the Advanced Research Project Agency-Energy (ARPA-E) “to support high-risk, high-payoff research into energy sources and energy efficiency in collaboration with industry,” according to Pelosi’s office.
In transportation, there is $8.4 billion for mass transit and $8 billion for construction of high-speed railways.
When it comes to you and I as consumers and homeowners, there is even more good news:
For us there is even more incentive to invest in renewable energy and a tax credit of up to $7500 for energy efficient vehicles.
The $2,000 cap for the 30% solar hot water credit has been lifted and the $4,000 cap has been lifted for wind energy investment.
And, very exciting news is out there if you are renovating an existing home:
To retrofit existing homes to be more efficient, the bill extends and expands tax credits for purchase “such as new furnaces, energy-efficient windows and doors, or insulation,” according to the committee report. The House and Senate versions extended these credits to 2010 and increased the level to 30 percent with a cap of $1,500 on combined purchases, according to Environment and Energy Daily (subscription required
So see, Whether you are Republican or Democrat and have hope or no hope at all, you can’t help but see this silver green lining.
