Administration to Make Clean Energy Key Part of Economic Recovery Strategy

SAN FRANCISCO – Phil Angelides, chairman of the Apollo Alliance, today released the following statement commending President Obama’s plan to accelerate U.S. job creation and stimulate economic growth:

“The Apollo Alliance applauds the president’s continued focus on creating jobs through investments in clean and efficient energy systems and improvements to the nation’s aging transportation infrastructure.

“America is facing twin crises of economic instability and a global clean energy race that is quickly leaving us behind. Fortunately, the president understands that these crises can also be opportunities. The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act was a significant down payment on America’s clean energy future, but we must continue to drive short-term investment and job creation in efficiency and renewables in ways that leverage private capital over the long term and lay the foundation for a stronger, more sustainable U.S. economy.

“The president’s proposed efficiency retrofit incentives have the potential to provide a strong stimulus for immediate job creation, as does his plan to expand oversubscribed, successful Recovery Act programs. Going forward, we encourage the administration to pair these efforts with the creation of a federal financing authority that provides credit enhancement to innovative energy efficiency and renewable installation models.

“We commend the president’s focus on creating clean energy manufacturing jobs through the expansion of industrial energy efficiency programs and tax incentives for clean energy manufacturing facilities. Currently, 70 percent of America’s clean energy systems are manufactured abroad, which means valuable, well-paying jobs that should be filled by American workers are instead going overseas. We need to turn that ship around.

“We encourage the president and Congress to make a long-term commitment to the country’s clean energy manufacturing sector. By including the provisions of the Investments for Manufacturing Progress and Clean Technology Act of 2009 in any jobs creation package, we can ensure that America’s manufacturers have the funds they need to expand into the global clean energy marketplace and become more energy efficient.”

During last week’s White House Jobs Summit, the Apollo Alliance released a clean energy investment plan that, if enacted, would create up to 1.2 million domestic jobs while increasing U.S. energy security and climate stability. The 5-point plan, meant for inclusion in a larger Congressional and administration strategy to spur economic recovery and create jobs, focused on several areas the president identified as part of his short-term job growth plan, including transportation infrastructure, energy efficiency and renewables, and domestic clean energy manufacturing.