Keeping true to his campaign promise of providing more jobs in the green power industry, President Barack Obama has announced that almost $2bn in loan guarantees will be provided to seed two solar energy projects in the US, reports the BBC.
The fund will come from the government stimulus package aimed to boost the economy during the recession.
The first solar energy project will be the the “Solana” project at Gila Bend near Phoenix, Arizona which will have an area of 1,900 acres, according to energy firm Abenoga Solar. The solar power plant will produce 280 MW enough to power 70,000 homes and reduce carbon emissions using thermal storage-equipped parabolic trough technology.
In its construction, 1,500 new jobs will be created while there will be 100 positions for staff to maintain it.
The second solar energy project will put up power plants in Colorado and Indiana, creating 2,000 construction jobs and 1,500 permanent jobs. The plants will use state-of-the-art thin film solar panels which will be manufactured by Abound Solar Manufacturing marking the first time that such technology will be used for commercial purposes.
Will Obama hit two birds with one stone – carbon emission reduction and unemployment – through funding th ese projects? With almost 125,000 jobs lost in the last month, he still has a long way to go.
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