Jobs Created in Arizona Solar Industry with Washington Money

Phoenix Business Journal
WASHINGTON -- Despite a weak economy, U.S. solar power companies increased their revenue by 36 percent and added 17,000 jobs last year.
A major reason for these gains was the grants and tax breaks included in the economic stimulus bill, according to the Solar Energy Industries Association. Extending this government assistance could produce an additional 200,000 jobs in the solar industry and supporting businesses, according to a study conducted for the association.
The stimulus breaks for the solar industry got off to a slow start, according to SEIA, but by February 2010 more than 46 megawatts of solar capacity had been deployed with the help of cash grants that the U.S. Treasury Department offered in lieu of a commercial tax credit.
As of February, 182 solar projects had received Treasury grants totaling $81 million. This stimulus-funded program, which significantly lowers transaction costs for solar projects, is scheduled to end in December.
Extending the Treasury Grant Program for two more years would increase cumulative U.S. investment in solar electric technologies by $21 billion and generate an additional 67,000 jobs in 2015, according to a study conducted for SEIA by EuPD Research.
The stimulus bill also created an investment tax credit for manufacturers of equipment that make renewable energy components. In January, the U.S. Department of Energy awarded $2.3 billion of these tax credits to 183 projects, 60 of which were factories that supply the solar industry.
The funding allocation for this program has been exhausted, however. Allowing solar manufacturing expenditures to be claimed under a separate existing investment tax credit would increase U.S. investment in solar technologies by $22 billion and add 158,000 jobs in 2016, according to the EuPD Research study.
“During the last year, the solar industry has been one of the bright spots in our economy,” said SEIA President and CEO Rhone Resch. “It’s time for Congress to extend the programs that have given new opportunity for Americans in the solar industry.”
Stimulus projects help 29 states add construction jobs in April
Stimulus-funded projects and increased demand for single-family homes led to gains in construction employment in 29 states in April, according to Associated General Contractors of America.
All but four states, however, have fewer construction jobs than they had a year ago.
“A gradual turnaround appears to be taking hold after years of construction employment declines,” said Ken Simonson, the trade association’s chief economist. “As more stimulus projects get under way and single-family housing picks up, we are likely to see the number of states with year-over-year increases grow.”
Commercial construction remains depressed, however, because of high vacancy rates. Plus, transportation and infrastructure projects not funded by the stimulus bill face an uncertain future because of delays in Congress and budget shortfalls at state and local governments.
“Construction employment won’t return to pre-downturn levels for many months,” Simonson said.
Anirban Basu, chief economist at Associated Builders and Contractors, also sees some signs of improvement, but he questions whether these gains are sustainable. ABC’s Construction Backlog Indicator, which measures the amount of construction work under contract that will be completed in the future, rose 4.5 percent during the first quarter.
“The fact that the CBI is on the rise illustrates that the improvements recently seen in various other indicators, including construction spending, will continue through much of the balance of 2010,” Basu said. “It remains too soon to tell whether the current momentum will continue through 2011.”


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