US President Barack Obama has announced more than $1bn of investments through Department of Energy (DOE) initiatives aimed to encourage innovation and clean energy developments.
The DOE’s Loan Programs Office (LPO) will be offering up to $1bn of loan guarantees in order to promote commercial-scale distributed energy projects such as rooftop solar equipment with storage and smart grid technology.
The initiative will be a part of President Obama’s Clean Power Plan to drive the country towards a low-carbon energy future.
The DOE will also offer $24m of funding via Advanced Research Projects Agency-Energy (ARPA-E) for 11 solar projects, which can increase the performance of solar photovoltaic (PV) systems at reduced costs.
US Department of Energy Secretary Ernest Moniz said: "The announcements made today will help spur innovative clean energy technologies that will be central to the president’s Clean Power Plan and combat climate change.
"The Clean Power Plan is a tremendous opportunity for American businesses to be global leaders in solar and distributed energy technologies.
"This will help shepherd in a new era of clean energy jobs and a low-carbon economy that will deliver affordable and reliable power to America’s homes and businesses."
In a speech at a green energy conference in Las Vegas, the President also indicted supporters of fossil fuel interests and other critics of his energy policies, stating that they are restricting consumers from accessing renewable energy options such as wind and solar.
Obama highlighted green energy resources as a viable solution to combat climate change, which he indicated to be ‘one of the most important issues, not just of our time, but of any time,’ reports Agence France-Presse.
