Create 5 million "green" jobs

Green jobs aplenty in stimulus and proposed budget

Updated: Friday, March 20th, 2009 | By Robert Farley

This is a long-term promise and we are only in the third month of the Obama presidency, but there's plenty of "green job" stuff in both the economic stimulus package signed by Obama in February as well as in the administration's proposed 2010 budget, enough that we wanted to acknowledge the progress made toward this promise.

The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, better known as the economic stimulus, includes nearly $17 billion for energy efficiency and renewable energy, including $5 billion to weatherize low-income homes; $3.1 billion for state energy programs; $2 billion for advanced battery manufacturing grants to encourage production of plug-in hybrid and electric cars; and $3.2 billion for energy efficiency and conservation block grants.

There's also $6 billion in the stimulus to modernize the nation's electricity grid; as well as hundreds of millions for research into renewable energy technologies like biomass and geothermal.

And it includes more than $6 billion in loan guarantees for renewable energy investors. Together with renewable tax credits, the White House estimates that will result in $100 billion in private investment in renewable energy projects.

Obama's proposed 2010 budget includes:

* Support for loan guarantees for innovative energy technologies "including renewable energy projects, transmission projects, and carbon sequestration projects that avoid, reduce or sequester air pollutants and greenhouse gases while simultaneously creating green jobs."

* Support for the plan to modernize the nation's electric grid.

* Investments in clean energy technologies including biofuels, renewable energy and energy efficiency projects.

* Increased funding for scientific research, including the development of clean energy technologies like solar, biomass, geothermal, wind and low-carbon emission coal power.

It's too early to say how many green jobs all of this will translate into. Suffice to say a lot. Five million? Time will tell. But there's enough in these two plans to move this to In the Works.

Sources: Office of Budget and Management, Budget Documents for Fiscal Year 2010 American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 Department of Energy, Overview of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (Recovery Act) DOE's Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy, American Recovery and Reinvestment Act Allots $16.8 Billion for EERE , Feb. 17, 2009