U.S. Department of Treasury awards SunEdison with first Section 1603 grant

SunEdison has received its first grant in lieu of investment tax credit under Section 1603 of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (Recovery Act).

The grant was awarded by the U.S. Department of Treasury on the 22nd September. Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner and Energy Secretary Steven Chu invited Carlos Domenech, COO of SunEdison, to participate in a White House roundtable meeting of select industry executives to discuss expanding development of clean, domestic sources of energy following the award notification.

In light of the changes brought about by Section 1603, SunEdison has identified approximately 200MW of distributed solar energy projects that could be accelerated by the grant program. SunEdison's first US$992,000 grant was for a 443kW PV solar system at Owens Corning's facility in Kearney, NJ.

Speaking of the event, Carlos Domenech, COO of SunEdison, noted, "We were honored to participate in the roundtable discussion. SunEdison's initial application was approved less than three weeks after we submitted our request. Given the streamlined application process, we expect to submit new projects from our pipeline almost weekly." According to Domenech, "SunEdison's distributed generation model can develop significant capacity in rooftop and utility-scale substation systems that can be approved and built quickly. The 1603 grants will accelerate our efforts to reduce our customers' energy costs, create installation and integration jobs and deliver measurable environmental benefits."

Section 1603 provides cash payment in lieu of the Investment Tax Credit of up to 30% of qualifying project costs. The payments improve project viability and enhance liquidity for projects by attracting new investment, enabling companies to create and retain jobs and contribute to the administration's goal of doubling renewable energy generation capacity within three years.