Take Action: Help Create Tens of Thousands of Jobs, Help Extend 1603 Treasury Program
I got this email yesterday from the Solar Energy Industries Association. Thought I should share with you all….
Last year, solar customers across the U.S. enjoyed a holiday miracle when Congress voted at the eleventh-hour to extend the hugely successful 1603 Treasury Program through 2011.
Now we’re hoping for a repeat.
With Congress finishing work on several critical issues before the holiday season, now is our best opportunity to make sure they don’t forget the fastest-growing sector of our economy. The best way to keep all renewable energy technologies growing and creating jobs is to extend the 1603 Treasury Program, which has helped create tens of thousands of jobs and spurred record levels of investment in renewable energy projects of every kind.This is THE policy ask for clean energy this year and we need every solar advocate in the country speaking with one voice to make it happen.
Click here to email your Senators and tell them to keep the 1603 job-creation engine running!
Why do we need the 1603 Treasury Program?
The bottom line is that the economy – in particular the tax equity markets – have not fully recovered. Financing is still the most critical issue for solar energy; an independent analysis by the U.S. Partnership for Renewable Energy Finance estimates that allowing 1603 to expire would shrink the available financing for renewable projects by more than 50-percent in 2012.
What has the program accomplished?
Last year the solar energy market in the U.S. grew by 69%, in large part due to 1603. The program has helped install over 22,000 new solar energy systems across the country, and has leveraged over $21 billion in private investment in renewable energy in all 50 states. You can find more info on 1603 on SEIA’s website.
What’s next?
An independent analysis by the firm EuPD estimates that extending 1603 through 2012 would lead to an additional 37,000 jobs in solar energy next year, a 12% increase over normal expectations. By 2016, an extension would lead to enough additional solar power for 400,000 homes.
This is our best opportunity to make the case to Congress for extending the 1603 Treasury Program. Join thousands of your fellow solar advocates and tell them that now is the time to stand up for renewable energy!
Sincerely,
Michael Rader, SEIA
Solar panel installation photo via senatorchriscoons
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