Tags : obama, solar
Obama Announces $3.4 Billion To Upgrade Energy Grid
Arcadia, FL (AHN) – Standing in 180 acres of mirror-like solar panels, President Barack Obama on Tuesday announced $3.4 billion in grants to upgrade the nation’s electricity transmission network with “smart grid” technology.
Funding for the $400,000 to $200 million federal grants comes from the $787 billion economic stimulus package passed by Congress in February.
The announcement was made at the Next Generation Solar Energy Center in this rural central Florida community about 90 miles southeast of Tampa. The center’s builders, Florida Power & Light Co. expects to generate enough power to supply the electrical needs of 3,000 homes.
Some 49 states will receive 100 grants, which will be matched by private investment totaling $4.7 billon. Baltimore Gas and Electric Co., owned by Constellation Energy Group, will get $200 million to provide 1.1 million households with new electric meters that will allow customers to adjust their usage during peak times.
The president remarked here that he expects the grants to generate tens of thousands of new jobs.
The Florida facility is the largest in the country capable of making electricity from the sun.
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