THE OBAMA CLEAN ENERGY STANDARD (CES)

The Clean Energy Standard Will Build on Progress

"An ambitious Clean Energy Standard [CES] will build on the enormous recent progress in renewable energy, with 16,000 megawatts of new electric generating capacity from wind, solar, and geothermal energy that has come online since 2008 – an increase of nearly 60 percent in just two years.

"1. Creating jobs and clean energy through the Recovery Act: ARRA made an historic investment in clean energy of over $90 billion, which has already created or saved 224,500 American jobs and tens of thousands of domestic renewable energy projects – including some of the largest in the world – putting the country on target to double renewable energy generation by 2012."

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"2. Expanding production through the successful “1603” grant program: The renewable energy grant program under the Recovery Act has been an essential tool in deploying renewable energy resources in the U.S. over the past two years, successfully increasing U.S. manufacturing and creating tens of thousands of new American jobs. The Recovery Act converted these pre-existing tax credits into grant payments, making it easier for recipients to quickly expand clean energy generation and hiring. To date, the 1603 program has helped encourage more than 4,000 clean energy projects. The Tax Relief, Unemployment Insurance Reauthorization, and Job Creation Act of 2010 extended the 1603 program for one year."

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"3. Staying on the cutting edge through Clean Energy R&D: Through the Recovery Act, we have invested in 120 cutting edge research projects through Advanced Research Projects Agency – Energy (ARPA-E) program across areas ranging from grid technology and power electrics to nuclear technology and batteries and energy storage. Past Budgets funded three “Energy Innovation Hubs” that explore building efficiency, fuel from sunlight, and nuclear reactor modeling and simulation. This year’s Budget will more than double funding for ARPA-E and will double the number of Hubs.

"4. Siting a record number of renewable projects on public lands: In the last year alone, the Department of Interior green-lighted the first nine commercial-scale solar energy projects for construction on public lands, including the largest solar power plants in the world. When built, these projects will supply nearly 3,700 MW of power—enough to power more than 1,100,000 homes—and are expected to create about 7,300 new jobs. Interior also approved the first offshore wind farm in the U.S., and has launched an initiative to accelerate the rapid and responsible development of America’s vast offshore wind resources."