FACT SHEET: THE AMERICAN RECOVERY AND REINVESTMENT ACT

Driving the Deployment of Clean Energy, Promoting Energy Efficiency, and Supporting Manufacturing in Connecticut

Through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (Recovery Act), President Obama made the largest single investment in clean energy in history, providing more than $90 billion in strategic clean energy investments and tax incentives to promote job creation and the deployment of low-carbon technologies, and leveraging approximately $150 billion in private and other non-federal capital for clean energy investments. In a new report released today, CEA estimates that the Recovery Act clean energy-related programs supported roughly 900,000 job-years in innovative clean energy fields from 2009 to 2015.

The funding reached nearly every aspect of the value chain for numerous key clean energy technologies, including advanced vehicles, batteries, carbon capture and sequestration, and technologies to enhance energy efficiency. These investments were a down payment toward an innovative sustainable 21st century clean economy and helped the country take a large step forward to reducing fossil fuel consumption and reducing carbon pollution across the country. In fact, the Department of Energy provided over $228 million to the State of Connecticut to promote clean energy and energy efficiency.

Since 2008, the United States has more than doubled its use of renewable energy from wind, solar, and geothermal sources, including tripling wind energy generation and increasing solar generation by more than thirty times. In Connecticut, renewable energy generation from these sources has increased by 9 percent since 2008. The Recovery Act’s 1603 program, which provides businesses a 30 percent tax credit to purchase clean energy technologies, has supported tens of thousands of renewable energy projects throughout the country, including 1,568 in Connecticut, generating enough energy to power nearly 24,000 homes.

Using less energy to power our homes and businesses is critical to building a clean and secure energy future. President Obama has made essential investments in research and development to advance energy efficiency, and set new standards to make the things we use every day more efficient. Since October 2009, the Department of Energy and the Department of Housing and Urban Development have jointly completed energy upgrades for more than 1.5 million homes across the country, most of which were financed through the Recovery Act. One of the Recovery Act funded programs is DOE's Weatherization Assistance Program through which 13,779 homes were weatherized in Connecticut. On average, these improvements are saving families more than $400 a year on their heating and cooling bills.