Obama's jobs speech gives indicates support for manufacturing energy efficiency

Yesterday, President Obama gave a speech broadly laying out the steps that his Administration envisions for further stimulating the economy, putting Americans back to work, and getting businesses hiring again. In it, he gave a nod to the manufacturing sector, indicating that an upcoming jobs bill should include programs that invest in manufacturing energy efficiency and bolster manufacturers of energy efficiency and clean energy technologies:

Expansion of successful oversubscribed Recovery Act programs to leverage private investment in energy efficiency and create clean energy manufacturing jobs. The Recovery Act included historic investments that have helped to build the foundation for a clean energy economy. The Administration supports expanding programs for which additional federal dollars will leverage private investment and create jobs quickly, such as industrial energy efficiency investments and tax incentives for investing in renewable manufacturing facilities in the U.S.

ACEEE views this as a promising signal of the Administration's acknowledgment of the manufacturing sector as a crucial target for public-private partnership investment. We look forward to a concerted effort by both the President and Congress to follow through on strong energy efficiency measures for the manufacturing sector.

Images: President Obama (Boston Globe)