On February 17, 2009, the President signed into law the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. Not only will this new law serve as the foundation for the new Administration's economic recovery efforts, but the investments made in the law will attempt to spur growth in green technologies – including advances in renewable electricity, green buildings and other energy- and environmentally-conscious infrastructure.

The following is meant to be a general overview of the funding commitments that focus on energy, conservation and environmentally-conscious spending broken down by agency. If you would like additional information about any of the following provisions, please do not hesitate to contact us so we can provide you with greater detail.

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency

  • $4 billion in grants for the Clean Water State Revolving Fund.
  • $2 billion in grants for the Drinking Water State Revolving Fund.
  • $600 million to address uncontrolled releases from hazardous and toxic waste sites.
  • $300 million for diesel emission reductions grants.
  • $200 million for cleanup activities for the Leaking Underground Storage Program.
  • $100 million for brownfields cleanup.


U.S. Department of Energy

  • $6 billion in loan guarantees for the temporary program for Rapid Deployment of Renewable Energy and Electric Transmission Projects' Innovative Technology Loan Guarantee Program for renewable technologies and transmission technologies.
  • $5 billion for the Weatherization Assistance Program to assist low-income families in improving the energy efficiency in their homes.
  • $4.5 billion to modernize the electric grid, to include demand-responsive equipment, enhance security and reliability of the energy infrastructure, energy storage research, development, demonstration and deployment, and to facilitate recovery from disruptions from the energy supply.
  • $3.2 billion for Energy Efficiency and Conservation Block Grants, including formula and competitive grants.
  • $3.1 billion for State Energy Programs.
  • $2.5 billion for energy efficiency and renewable energy research, development, demonstration and deployment activities.
  • $2 billion for the manufacturing of advanced batteries and components, including advanced lithium-ion batteries, hybrid electrical systems, component manufacturers and software designers.
  • $1.52 billion for a range of industrial carbon capture and energy efficiency improvement projects, including a small allocation for innovative concepts for beneficial CO2 reuse.
  • $1 billion for fossil energy, coal technologies, carbon capture, coal mining technologies, oil and gas, oil and gas reservoirs, complex weld technology testing, and methane hydrate R&D programs.
  • $800 million for the Clean Coal Power Initiative.
  • $483 million for non-defense environmental cleanup.
  • $400 million to support high-risk, high-payoff research to accelerate the innovation cycle for both traditional and alternative energy sources and energy efficiency through the newly-created Advanced Research Projects Agency - Energy (ARPA-E) .
  • $400 million for qualified electric transportation projects that reduce emissions.
  • $300 million for the Alternative Fueled Vehicles Pilot Grant Program to encourage the use of plug-in electric-drive vehicles or other emerging electric vehicle technologies.
  • $300 million for state appliance rebate programs to support appliance efficiency.
  • $50 million for site characterization activities for various geologic formations.
  • $20 million for geologic sequestration research and training.


U.S. Department of Defense

  • $4.24 billion for facilities sustainment, restoration and modernization, including investments in energy efficiency projects and to repair and modernize DOD facilities.
  • $300 million for research, development, test and evaluation of projects for improvements in energy generation and efficiency, transmission, regulation, storage, and for use on military installations and within operational forces.
  • $120 million for the Energy Conservation and Investment Program.
  • $100 million for the Navy & Marine Corps energy conservation and alternative energy projects.


U.S. Department of Agriculture

  • $1.38 billion in direct loans and grants for water and waste disposal facilities in rural areas.
  • $650 million for the Forest Service's Capital Improvement and Maintenance, including consideration of alternative energy technologies.
  • $50 million for wood-to-energy grants to promote increased utilization of biomass.


U.S. General Services Administration

  • $4.5 billion to convert GSA facilities to high-performance green buildings.
  • $300 million to purchase motor vehicles with higher fuel economy, including hybrids, electric vehicles and commercially available PHEVs.

The content of this article is intended to provide a general guide to the subject matter. Specialist advice should be sought about your specific circumstances.