Watch this video to learn how the Recovery Act helped jumpstart America's clean energy economy. | Video by Simon Edelman and graphics by Carly Wilkins, Energy Department.
America is now a world leader in clean energy. But how did we get there? One key reason is the Recovery Act of 2009, a historic investment to revitalize the economy during the worst financial crisis since the Great Depression.
This investment created millions of jobs -- including thousands of clean energy jobs in sectors that never even existed before. For example, in 2009 there was not a single utility-scale photovoltaic solar farm in the United States larger than 100 megawatts. Through the Recovery Act, the Energy Department’s Loan Programs Office financed the first five solar plants larger than 100 MW, jumpstarting a market that today boasts 28 facilities in six states that were financed without LPO loan guarantees.
The Recovery Act also helped establish America as the world’s leading plug-in electric vehicle market by supporting 37 advanced battery and electric drive component manufacturing plants all across the nation.
These are just a couple of the amazing results of the Recovery Act, signed into law by President Obama seven years ago today. Watch the video above to learn more about how the Recovery Act laid the foundation for America’s energy future.
