11.08.2012: In an open letter to US Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner, House Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman Fred Upton and Oversight and Investigations Subcommittee Chairman Cliff Stearns demand to know how Treasury plans to recover taxpayer dollars it awarded to now-failed companies under the Section 1603 grant program for renewable energy. Specifically, the Republicans want to know how Treasury will recoup millions awarded to three now-bankrupt project developers who own, respectively, a 14 MW biomass power plant in Montana, a 14 MW geothermal facility in Utah and a 1.5 MW concentrating solar thermal system in Arizona – For reference, the 1603 program has supported the development of more than 45,000 renewable energy projects to date – Upton and Stearns also demand to know what procedures were in place to enable Treasury to recoup funds from recipients that violate the terms of their grants. The 1603 program, which expired at the end of 2011 after two years in force, offered renewable energy project developers a one-time cash payment in lieu of the 30 percent investment tax credit (ITC), thereby reducing the need for developers to secure tax equity partners that could monetize the ITC. President Barack Obama has repeatedly urged Congress to extend the 1603 Treasury program, and in April, the president of the US Solar Energy Industries Association (SEIA), Rhone Resch, told the Oversight and Investigations subcommittee that the program was essential to ensuring the continued health of the US renewable energy industry. In the letter, the Republicans also claim the program has failed to create jobs as promised. Citing the Congressional Research Service, the Republicans say the 1603 program paid out $9.7 billion up to November 10, 2011 and created an estimated 8,042 jobs – this equates to about $1.2 million per job created. Upton and Stearns add that as of July 20, 2012, the program had paid out nearly $13 billion to more than 45,000 projects. They fail, however, to discuss how taxpayers have received a good return on investment. According to the National Renewable Energy Laboratory, the 1603 program supported an average of 52,000 to 75,000 jobs per year over the program’s operational period and supported $9 billion to $14 billion in total earnings and $26 billion to $44 billion in economic output over its lifetime. … Source: US House Energy & Commerce Committee; Summary: PHOTON http://energycommerce.house.gov/news/PRArticle.aspx?NewsID=9770 http://republicans.energycommerce.house.gov/Media/file/Letters/112th/0
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