The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009
Signed into law by President Obama on February 17, 2009, the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act represents the single greatest federal investment in energy efficiency in United States history. The Recovery Act provided more than $25 billion dollars for “core” energy efficiency and billions more which can be directly or indirectly applied to energy efficiency projects. See a summary of energy efficiency provisions in the Recovery Act.
With each efficiency provision, the Recovery Act sought to spur economic growth, create jobs immediately, save energy, reduce greenhouse gas emissions, and continue to transition our economy to a smarter, greener energy future. Funds were distributed primarily to states and localities through major grant programs and to individuals through rebates, tax credits and other means.
This page tracks the implementation of energy efficiency provisions in the Recovery Act.
Core Energy Efficiency Programs
The Recovery Act funded five core energy efficiency programs, each with its own experience over the last year:
Challenges and Prospects
The Recovery Act was designed as multi-year program, with the fast-acting tax and infrastructure measures in the first year and the market transforming energy programs in the following years. The April 2009 GAO Report on the Recovery Act estimated that only 1% of Recovery Act spending in FY 2009 would be on energy. Even so, the Department of Energy stood up each of its major energy programs in the first year and met several expected and unexpected challenges:
Staff Capacity: One of the most immediate challenges of the Recovery Act was the need for qualified personnel at both federal and state levels. The Recovery Act and normal FY 2009 appropriations increased the Department of Energy (DOE) Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE) total budget to $18.73 billion in 2009, an 11-fold increase above FY 2008 funding levels. In the first months of stimulus implementation, DOE hired 550 new full time employees to meet these demands and established a new Recovery Act team. At the state and local level, agencies similarly reached their staff capacities and faced additional state budgetary restraints that challenged implementation.
Federal Legal Requirements: Over the past year, the Department of Energy has been working through federal requirements to make the Recovery Act programs transparent and effective. The DOE issued guidance on the National Environmental Policy Act, National Historic Preservation Act, Davis-Bacon wage rates requirements , and the Buy American provision, which, now in place, will streamline and expedite project selection and starts. For a full explanation of these federal legal requirements and their effect on stimulus implementation, see the Feburary 2010 GAO report on the Recovery Act and the Alliance summary of the report.
Prospects: In the first phase of stimulus, the Department of Energy distributed funds to states energy offices and local agencies and provided critical oversight on the plans for those funds. The next phase of stimulus will launch state and local projects and create local jobs. According to DOE staff, spring and summer of 2010 will produce the greatest numbers of stimulus-funded jobs. By October 2010, DOE expects to have obligated 100 percent of funds and to have spent roughly 35-40 percent of Recovery Act funds, with the rest to be spent by March 31, 2012.
For more information on Recovery Act Implementation, see the March 4, 2010 Senate Environment and Natural Resources Committee hearing on Recovery Act Implementation.
Impacts
Innovation: In August 2010, Vice-president Biden released a report outlining the major impacts of the Recovery Act on innovation in energy efficiency and renewable energy. According the the report, The Recovery Act: Transforming the American Economy through Innovation, the United States is on track to achieve subtstantial energy innovations, such as decreasing the cost of electric-vehicle batteries by 70 percent and thecost of solar power by half by 2015.
Success Stories: Energy Empowers, a Department of Energy blog, shares the personal success stories of clean energy projects in the Recovery Act. See the story on weatherization below and visit the blog for daily updates.
Recovery Act Timeline
Key dates for the five core energy efficiency programs
- February 17, 2009: President Obama signs Recovery Act (Summary)
- February 17, 2009: Recovery.gov unveiled
- March 2009: SEP and WAP initial state applications due to DOE
- March 31, 2009: GSA releases first Federal Buildings Fund Spend Plan
- April 2009: GAO report on state and local Recovery Act implementation (Report)
- May 2009: SEP and WAP state program plans due to DOE
- June 2009: EECBG applications due to DOE
- June - August 2009: DOE approves SEP, WAP and EECBG applications
- August 15, 2009: Appliance Rebate initial applications due to DOE
- October 10, 2009: Appliance Rebate program plans due to DOE
- September 2009: GAO releases report on high-performance federal buildings (Report)
- November 23, 2009: GSA releases revised Federal Buildings Fund Spend Plan (Full Plan)
- December 2009: DOE Releases guidance on federal requirements for Recovery Act funds (Document List)
- December 24, 2009: Appliance Rebate funds awarded to states
- February 2010: GAO releases report on federal requirements for Recovery Act funds (Report)
- September 30, 2010: All Recovery Act funds must be obligated
- March 2012: All Recovery Act funds must be spent
