Finally, Green Investment is Coming to a Place Near You ...

24 February 2009

By Irina Ignatova, tropical-rainforest-animals.com

No doubt, the biggest news of this month for the green investment community has been the signing by President Obama of the American Recovery & Reinvestment Act of 2009 on 17 Feb 2009.

President Barack Obama signs the ARRA into law on February 17, 2009 in Denver, Colorado

The US is, of course, one of the most important economic players in the world; it is interdependent with other economies like never before.

The boost to green industries of the US economy to be received from the Recovery Act would also be expected to benefit the world economy as a whole.

The green stimulus will be delivered via (1):

• Tax Incentives,
• Direct Spending, and
• Bond & Loan Programs

Green Industries in the Recovery Act of 2009

Let's now look at specific green industries covered by the Recovery Act. (1)

Renewable Energy: Development, Production & Use

The Act aims to promote the development of wind, geothermal, biomass, hydropower, landfill gas, waste-to-energy, marine power through:

• tax incentives such as production tax credits, investment tax credits, grants for project developers in lieu of tax credits, advanced energy manufacturing credits (ex., for creating or retooling manufacturing facilities to make components used to generate renewable energy)
• direct spending for renewable energy programs over the next 10 year; investments in renewable energy R&D (research & development), demonstration and deployment activities
• bond & loan programs including Clean Energy Renewable Bonds (CERBs) to finance wind, biomass, geothermal, small irrigation, hydropower, landfill gas, marine renewable, and trash combustion facilities.

Energy Efficiency: Smart Grid, Advanced Battery Technology etc.

Energy efficiency is high on the agenda as well.

For example, the smart grid allows end consumers to manage their energy demand by using "smart" technology such as smart meters installed in their homes. So the development of smart grid technology is expected to generate significant savings in energy use.

Advanced battery technology (ex., for hybrid electrical cars, component manufacturing and software design) also offer greater energy savings, especially in mobile systems.

The Act allocates funds in direct spending for the development of the smart grid, advanced battery technology and other energy efficiency programs.

We are discussing these and other green industries in the Green Investment article in more detail.

So there is plenty of food for thought for green investors looking for new opportunities to make profits by helping the planet.

The important point to remember is that even if all these measures are aimed solely for the American economy, the rest of the world will inevitably benefit as well.

My hope is that America can lead the way in developing and introducing on a wide scale new technologies in renewable energy, energy efficiency and other green sectors, which can later be exported to other countries.

References:

1. Greentech.co.uk (February 18, 2009). Obama launches massive green energy stimulus. Retrieved from http://greentech.co.uk/obama-launches-massive-green-energy-stimulus-283 on February 24, 2009

Irina