The economic stimulus package contains more than $20 billion in financial incentives for consumers, governments and utilities for investing in projects that will improve energy efficiency. Manufacturers of green products, especially those addressing energy conservation or generating renewable energy sources, are set to gain increased business and profits by communicating these incentives to potential buyers.

The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA) will extend and triple the total available tax credit from $500 to $1,500, according to the Alliance To Save Energy (www.ase.org). The stimulus also increases the tax credit to 30 percent of the cost of each qualified energy efficiency improvement.

The ARRA could create more than 100,000 jobs over the next two years and, over the life of the measures, reduce U.S. carbon dioxide emissions by nearly 200 million metric tons, according to the Alliance.

One of the best reports on the financial incentives, comes from The Alliance, which listed the following ARRA incentives for energy efficiency:

• $5 billion for the Weatherization Assistance Program, which will go a long way in meeting President Obama’s goal of weatherizing one million homes per year while creating an estimated 32,000 jobs in the auditing and retrofitting industries;
• $4.5 billion to make 75 percent of federal buildings more energy efficient;
• $3.1 billion for the State Energy Program (SEP), which delivers important energy efficiency services and innovations in every state; the language contains incentives for states to adopt utility regulatory reform and stronger building energy codes; this program has the needed infrastructure to quickly absorb the new funding and create new jobs;
• $300 million for state matching grants for rebates to consumers who purchase higher-tier energy-efficient appliances;
• $3.2 billion for Energy Efficiency and Conservation Block Grants (EECBG) that will allow state and local governments to aggressively implement energy efficiency programs;
• $400 million of the EECBG funds to be awarded on a competitive basis; and
• More than $8 billion for state and local government investments in public transportation.

While the stimulus is still being digested, the best all around resource for financial incentives on the Web is at www.dsireusa.org. Check it out. Everything from the federal incentives down to the utilities are listed on this site.

(This article is a repost of an article that was originally posted on February 21, 2009.)

Energy Efficiency, Green Apple Group, Stimulus Funding, American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, Stumulus Package, Weatherization Assistance Program