SUN NEEDS FED LOAN GUARANTEES

US federal loan guarantee cuts: Job creation, energy security at stake
Uwe T. Schmidt, 11 April 2011 (CSP Today)

[Uwe T. Schmidt, Chair/CEO, Solar Trust of America:] “…The Department of Energy’s (DOE) Loan Programs Office has been successful in facilitating the lending of billions of dollars to renewable energy innovators to bring commercial technologies to market…Every dollar appropriated by Congress to the Department of Energy’s Loan Guarantee Program spurs 13 dollars in private investment, dramatically reducing the costs of renewable energy and creating significant employment opportunities.”

[Uwe T. Schmidt, Chair/CEO, Solar Trust of America:] “…House leaders have chosen to target the Loan Guarantee Program for significant funding cuts. The House’s proposal to cut non-nuclear projects needs to be reconsidered…While nuclear power has a role to play in the nation’s energy mix, clearly it comes with risks…[U]nrest in the Middle East demonstrates our economy’s vulnerability…to the global fossil fuel market…[A]ny reduction in Loan Guarantee program funding will result in significant job losses and reduced private sector investment in the industry that can best address these issues…”

click to enlarge

[Uwe T. Schmidt, Chair/CEO, Solar Trust of America:] “The Loan Guarantee Program provides critical support to…companies and infrastructure projects… driving our recovery…[and] poised to create thousands of jobs throughout America in steel production, manufacturing, logistics, construction, and engineering services…[Our] largest solar power facility in the world…will bring over 1,000 direct construction jobs to a region that suffers from 14 percent unemployment…”

[Uwe T. Schmidt, Chair/CEO, Solar Trust of America:] “…Our site is surveyed and fully permitted, transmission rights have been secured, and the 120,000 tons of steel required for the first phase of building is ready to be purchased from American mills, processed by American fabricators, and delivered to the site by American rail and trucks… Once fully operational, the 1,000MW facility - the size of a nuclear power facility - will employ approximately 200 technicians and will annually generate enough clean electricity to power over 300,000 homes…”

Artist's rendering of the Blythe project (click to enlarge)

[Uwe T. Schmidt, Chair/CEO, Solar Trust of America:] “…[N]one of this will happen…[without] the Loan Guarantee Program…[which] is on track to achieve its objectives of job creation, reduced dependence on foreign oil and protecting our environment through the commitment of $26 billion in loans and loan guarantees to $42 billion worth of projects that will create 59,000 jobs across nineteen states…”

[Uwe T. Schmidt, Chair/CEO, Solar Trust of America:] “…[There is a great opportunity to reverse the] decline of America’s manufacturing base and the outsourcing of jobs overseas…by embracing renewable energy technologies that unleash American ingenuity, labor and capital…The value of the Loan Guarantee Program in attracting private capital to the industry cannot be understated…[It] is essential for America to remain a force in [global renewable energy]…”