As concerns over air pollution and climate change continue to mount, the electric vehicle (EV) market is predicted to expand at a corresponding rate. And charging stations for electric vehicles is an equally high-growth market.

In August, U.S. Vice President Joseph Biden released the White House’s American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (Recovery (more…)

Fighting a war on the ground in Afghanistan has to be one of the hardest things a young person can do.

Fortunately, the U.S. Department of Defense, or DOD, is on the ground with our troops offering help and support – albeit in some very unexpected ways.

According to Tony Bui, an engineer with (more…)

One of the best and most exciting parts of my job is helping make homes and businesses more efficient. Why? The places where we live and work consume 40% of the energy we use in the U.S. Through tune-ups to existing homes or new construction, doing more while using less energy is key to improving our buildings and energy future. (more…)

The Recovery Act is making a long-term impact on American families and communities by reducing energy costs, creating green jobs and improving the quality of life for people across the country. That’s why last Thursday, I was proud to announce a major Recovery Act milestone for HUD and the Administration. Through HUD’s Green Retrofit Program for (more…)

On Monday, President Obama travelled to Menomonee Falls, Wisconsin to visit the ZBB Energy Corporation’s manufacturing facility. ZBB Energy Corporation manufactures advanced zinc bromide flow batteries and intelligent control platforms. These are crucial components of building a smart energy grid and expanding the commercialization electric vehicles because (more…)

Last week, I spoke at two events that helped underscore the extent to which President Obama’s Recovery Act is paving the way for a clean energy economy.

Before an audience of green affordable housing developers at the Communities of the Institute for Professional and Executive Development (IPED) annual conference, I (more…)

Burning fuel releases a lot of carbon dioxide. For more is emitted than any other air emission. What can we do with it all? A basic reuse of carbon dioxide or CO2 is to have plants and trees use it to make new plants and trees. Recently, the U.S. government has been funding more than $100 million to six research projects that will turn carbon dioxide into fuel, plastics, (more…)

Last week, White Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ) staff traveled to SBE Inc. in Barre, Vermont, where a $9.1 million Recovery Act grant is helping the company build a new electric drive component factory. As we toured the construction site with the company leadership, it truly felt as though we were witnessing a brand new American industry rising from the ground. (more…)

Yesterday, President Obama spoke with workers at Smith Electric’s new factory in Kansas City. Missouri. With a $32 million grant under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act coupled with $36 million in private capital, the electric vehicle company is building up to 500 all-electric trucks.

While he was there, the President also had the pleasure of announcing the company was hiring its 50th worker at the plant. By September, that number is expected to grow to 70, and at the project’s peak, Smith tells us the project will create more than 220 direct and indirect jobs.  As the President said:

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Picture a neighborhood block somewhere in your town. It might have single-story homes for 10 families — complete with front porches, sidewalks and green lawns. Or instead that block might have a single apartment building that houses 50 families over five floors. What we know is that each of the families — whether they’re living in a detached house or a mid-rise apartment — pays away some of their hard-earned dollars to pay for energy. And for many low-income Americans, these energy bills absorb a significant amount of the family income.

Now imagine that teams of trained experts come down that block and install measures to help those families save energy. Insulation, caulking, weatherstripping, windows, better furnaces or water heaters. So families’ energy bills go down and their comfort goes up. We call this ‘weatherization’ — and it’s happening in more than 82,000 homes as part of the Recovery Summer. (more…)