Green "Stimulus" In The Porker's Passage

The $900 billion pork ...er... "stimulus" bill has some stuff that Eco-Geeks will like. I expect Matthew Lesko will be pimping a new book on this subject soon enough.

First, if you're planning to install a solar power system, do it before 2010. You can get a grant to pay for up to 30% of it.

If you're a business who wants to build geothermal, PV, or solar thermal plants for grid-connected electrics, you can get a loan from the DOE. $60 billion was set aside for that...

Maybe you're going to buy one of the new plug-in hybrids like the Toyota Prius or the Honda Insight? There's a $7,500 tax credit there, but only if you get one of the first 250,000 sold (per manufacturer). Those who want to go totally green with an all-electric are SOL, since those credits aren't even close to the hybrid one. Hmm...wonder if the Big 3 had anything to do with this part?

Speaking of no-bid contracts, the government plans to green up their own buildings at a cost of only $5.5 billion, with about 75% of that going towards solar projects.

Oh, ya, and you know those GE commercials that feature their version of the Straw Man from Oz? Well, companies who utilize that sort of tech can get 50% of their costs reimbursed by the government, for a total of $30 billion in smart grid improvements.

Hey, can't forget the Wall Street types. They financed all those politician's campaigns, so they gotta get something. Well, besides the bailouts, they're also getting a 30% investment tax credit for investing in clean power technologies. So, if you're an investor, here's my unsolicited (unprofessional) investment advice: watch for companies that get those DOE loans from that $60 billion kitty and then invest in them and take the tax credit too. They're sure to last at least as long as the loans are forthcoming, which with government generally means forever.

Oh, and once they actually start producing something in the way of power or energy, they get production tax credits too (another 30%). Win-win-win for everyone but the taxpayer!

Finally, we can't forget about those wonderful Green Jobs that Obama is always going on about. I mean, they're THE FUTURE, right? Of course they are, people, even though they aren't exactly defined and nobody really knows what they are yet. Details! Well, $500 million is being set aside to create these wonderful Green Jobs (probably out of thin air). Actually, it's to TRAIN people in these not-yet-existing jobs so that they can be ready to take them when they magically appear later.

Yep, the Simporkulus bill is full of great stuff for the EcoGeek. Plus, as an added incentive, the money used to pay for all this happy greenness comes from your grandchildren! w00t!