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Summary

The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA, P.L. 111-5) emphasizes jobs, economic recovery, and assistance to those most impacted by the recession. It also stresses investments in technology, transportation, environmental protection, and other infrastructure and proposes strategies to stabilize state and local government budgets. Energy provisions are a featured part of ARRA. More than $45 billion is provided in appropriations for energy programs, mainly for energy efficiency and renewable energy. Most funding must be obligated by the end of FY2010. ARRA also provides more than $21 billion in energy tax incentives, primarily for energy efficiency and renewable energy. More than $11 billion is provided in grants for state and local governments through three Department of Energy programs. They are the Weatherization Assistance Program, which provides energy efficiency services to low-income households; the State Energy Program, which provides states with discretionary funding that can be used for various energy efficiency and renewable energy purposes; and the new Energy Efficiency and Conservation Block Grant Program, which aims to help reduce energy use and greenhouse gas emissions. The law conditions eligibility for most of the State Energy Program funding on enactment of new building codes and adoption of electric utility rate "decoupling" to encourage energy efficiency. For the Department of Education, about $8.8 billion is provided for "Other Government Services," which may include renovations of schools and college facilities that meet green building criteria. The Department of Housing and Urban Development ($2 billion),and the Environmental Protection Agency ($1 billion) receive multi-purpose funds that can be used for energy efficiency measures in public housing and state and tribal facilities. New transportation-related grant programs support state and local government and transit agency purchases of alternative fuel and advanced technology vehicles, multi-modal use of transportation electrification, and manufacturers' development of facilities for advanced battery production. Nearly $5 billion is provided for "leadership by example" efforts to improve energy efficiency in federal buildings and facilities. The law puts the General Services Administration (GSA) at the forefront of this effort, with $4.5 billion for "high performance" federal facilities. For Department of Defense facilities, ARRA provides $3.7 billion for improvements that have a focus on energy efficiency. ARRA provides $100 million to the Department of Transportation for "reducing energy consumption or greenhouse gases." The Department of the Interior ($1 billion) and Department of Veterans Affairs ($1 billion) receive multi-purpose funds that can be applied to "energy efficiency" or "energy projects." Also, GSA receives $300 million for federal purchases of alternative fuel vehicles. Nearly $8 billion is provided for energy and other R&D programs, $2.4 billion for energy technology and facility development grants, and $14 billion for electric power transmission grid infrastructure development and energy storage development (including $6 billion for loan guarantees). Also, the $21 billion in tax incentives include $14.1 billion for renewable energy, $2.3 billion for energy efficiency, $2.2 billion for transportation, $1.6 billion for manufacturing, and $1.4 billion for state and local government energy bonds. In response to the weakening value of renewable energy tax credits, caused by the economic recession, ARRA provides a cash grant alternative to both production and investment credits during 2009 and 2010.

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