Policy MonitorA Preliminary Assessment of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act’s Clean Energy Package

Abstract

The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act included more than $90 billion in strategic clean energy investments intended to promote job creation and deployment of low-carbon technologies. In terms of spending, the clean energy package has been described as the nation’s “biggest energy bill in history.” This article provides a preliminary assessment of the Recovery Act’s clean energy package through a review of the act’s rationale, design, and implementation. The article first surveys the policy principles for a clean energy stimulus and describes the process of crafting the clean energy package during the 2008–9 presidential transition. Then the article reviews the initial employment, economic activity, and energy outcomes associated with these energy investments, and it provides a more detailed case study of the Recovery Act’s support for renewable power through grants and loan guarantees. The article concludes with a discussion of lessons learned.