Continued support for solar will create jobs, provide for critical research and development

WASHINGTON, DC - Solar Energy Industries Association (SEIA) President and CEO Rhone Resch today released the following statement on the Obama Administration's FY 2011 budget for the Department of Energy's Solar Energy Program.

"This budget conveys the administration's commitment to the continued growth of the solar industry as we help put Americans back to work across the country, especially in areas like America's manufacturing centers that have been hit hardest by the recession. As a result of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act provisions, solar installations continued to grow by 40 percent and created nearly 20,000 jobs in 2009, highlighting that solar is one of the best policy investments around.

"With a 22 percent increase from last year's spending for solar, the 2011 budget will expand the industry's ability to advance technologies that will create jobs and economic opportunities. This increase for research and innovation, as well as new funding for the DOE Loan Guarantee program will help drive continued job growth in the coming year.

"An example of the importance of research and development funding for deploying solar technologies and producing clean energy jobs occurred last week in Arizona when the Stirling Dish Engine, which was developed through a research partnership with Sandia National Laboratory in New Mexico, was deployed in its first commercial application.

"We look forward to working with Congress and the Administration to strengthen the U.S. position as a leader in high-tech research and development. As President Obama said last week in his State of the Union Address, we will ‘not accept second place' when it comes to leading our clean energy economy."


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FY2011 DOE Solar and Related Budget Highlights:

Solar programs are $302.4 million, up 22% from FY2010, including:
- Advanced PV manufacturing
- Reliability (of components) to extend life of PV system
- Thermal storage research to make CSP cost-competitive as baseload power
- New Concentrating Solar Power demonstration program to show that technologies can scale up, provide operational data needed by finance community to invest in a project.

DOE Solar Program breakdown
- $152 million for PV, increased from $128.5 million
- $98.2 million for CSP ($50 million going to a demonstration program), increased from $49.7 million
- $30.7 million for systems integration, increased from $23.3 million
- $21.5 million for market transformation, decreased from $23.5 million

Transmission Highlights
- Continued support for renewable generators, reliability
- New $6.4 million for "permitting, siting and analysis" to educate states, regional grid operators, federal agencies and help assist in modernizing the electric grid.

Manufacturing
- A $5 billion for Advanced Energy Manufacturing tax credit. (Not all is for solar.)

DOE Building Technologies Program
- $7.3 million for Solar heating and cooling


FY2011 Department of the Interior Budget Highlights:
- Total of $73 million investment in renewable energy.


Background Resources:
Sandia National Laboratory and Tessera Solar Announcement: http://tesserasolar.com/north-america/pdf/2010_01_22.pdf
DOE Budget Resources: http://www.energy.gov/about/budget.htm



About SEIA:
Established in 1974, the Solar Energy Industries Association is the national trade association of solar energy industry. As the voice of the industry, SEIA works with its 1,000 member companies to make solar a mainstream and significant energy source by expanding markets, removing market barriers, strengthening the industry and educating the public on the benefits of solar energy.

SEIA Online:
Learn more - http://www.seia.org
Follow SEIA President & CEO Rhone Resch on Twitter - http://twitter.com/RhoneResch
Watch SEIA on YouTube - http://www.youtube.com/thesolarindustry
Become a Facebook fan - http://www.facebook.com/pages/Solar-Energy-Industries-Association/112495296809
Read the Solar Bill of Rights - http://www.SolarBillofRights.org

SEIA Solar Job Profiles: http://www.seia.org/cs/about_solar_energy/solar_job_profiles

Media Contact:
Monique Hanis, 202.556.2885, mhanis@seia.org
Jared Blanton, 202.556.2886, jblanton@seia.org
Mark Sokolove, Tigercomm, 703.302.8382, mark@tigercomm.us