Legislation will Increase the Availability of Credit for Clean Energy

Press Release

U.S. Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, today called for greater federal support of clean energy technologies.

Murkowski, the ranking Republican on the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee, and Chairman Jeff Bingaman, D-N.M., plan to introduce legislation in the coming days that would create a Clean Energy Deployment Administration (CEDA) to increase the availability of financing for developers of clean energy technologies through the provision of loan guarantees, direct loans, secondary market support and other credit enhancements.

"If we're serious about addressing global climate change, we need to provide the financial support for those who are trying to develop the next generation of clean energy technology," Murkowski said. "So far, our efforts have been woefully inadequate."

At a Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee hearing today, Murkowski noted that the inability of clean energy technology developers to obtain financing has been a persistent problem that has impeded innovation.

"This bill will allow innovators to pursue promising new technologies by facilitating access to much-needed capital," Murkowski said. "It provides an opportunity to aggressively reduce our greenhouse gas emissions without imposing new mandates or regulatory burdens."

The proposed legislation would transfer authority over the existing Energy Policy Act of 2005 loan guarantee program to CEDA, and provide additional support to increase financing options for clean energy projects.

The bill is designed to address growing frustration with the existing loan guarantee program, which has not approved a single application in the four years since it was established.

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