The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) has released a new report highlighting the benefits of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA) to small businesses throughout the renewable energy industry and environmental management sector.
The report found that as of early this month, small businesses have been selected to receive nearly $5.4 billion in funding across a number of ARRA and related programs, including loans, loan guarantees, grants, contracts and tax incentives, in partnership with the Department of the Treasury.
The report highlights 26 small businesses covering a range of clean energy technologies, such as wind, solar, biofuels, along with critical new infrastructure, like smart grid, advanced batteries, energy storage and energy efficiency tools.
‘Already, small businesses are one of the driving forces in the green energy sector,’ says Karen Mills, head of the Small Business Administration (SBA). ‘With resources like those provided through the Department of Energy and SBA, we have a unique opportunity to support the creation of good, well-paying jobs here at home that will also help keep America competitive.’
Wilbraham, Mass.-based FloDesign Wind Turbine Corp., one of the companies featured in the DOE report, is a fledgling start-up that won a Massachusetts Institute of Technology clean energy competition last year.
The company is developing a new high-efficiency shrouded wind turbine capable of delivering significantly more energy per unit of swept area. FloDesign Wind's $8.3 million ARPA-E grant represents a major increase in resources for the company that will have a dramatic effect on its ability to ramp up technology development, according to the DOE.
To read the report, visit energy.gov.
SOURCE: U.S. Department of Energy
