News

Green Money in the Obama Stimulus Package

According to Grist, the Center for American Progress found that the bill contains at least $62.2 billion in direct spending on green initiatives and $20 billion in green tax incentives, while funding for nuclear and coal projects was dropped from the final version. Here's the breakdown:
Energy transmission and alternative energy research:
• $11 billion for smart grid
• $7.5 billion for renewable energy and transmission-line construction
• $400 million for the Department of Energy's Advanced Research Project Agency for Energy for the development of alternative energy sources and efficiency
Efficiency:
• $4.5 billion for energy-efficiency improvements to federal buildings
• $6.3 billion for local government energy-efficiency grants
• $2.25 billion for energy-efficiency retrofits for low-income housing
• $2.25 billion for the HOME Investment Partners Program to retrofit community low-income housing
• $5 billion for the Weatherization Assistance Program for efficiency in low-income households
• $510 million for energy-efficiency retrofits for Native American housing programs
• $420 million for energy-efficiency improvements at the Department of Defense
• $300 million for Department of Defense research on energy efficiency at military installations
• $300 million for the appliance rebate program for Energy Star products
Mass transit and advanced automobiles:
• $8.4 billion for transit capital assistance programs
• $8 billion for Amtrak and intercity passenger rail
• $300 million for the purchase of more alternative-fuel and hybrid vehicles for the federal fleet
• $300 million in grants and loans for technologies that reduce diesel emissions
Green jobs training:
• $500 million for green jobs programs through the Workforce Investment Act
The Senate version of the bill had contained $4.6 billion for the research and development of carbon-capture-and-sequestration technologies for coal-fired power plants and $50 billion in loan guarantees for the nuclear industry, but that funding appears to have been dropped entirely.