Economic Message of the Week: Dept. of Energy Announces $1.37 Billion in Loans for Solar Power Plants

The Department of Energy announced "conditional commitments" for more than $1.37 billion in loan guarantees to support the construction of three major solar power plants.

"This is an investment in American jobs and the clean, renewable energy our economy needs," said Energy Secretary Steven Chu. "We're not going to sit on the sidelines while other countries capture the jobs of the future – we're committed to becoming the global leader in the clean energy economy."

The plants of the Ivanpah Solar Complex would almost double the current generation capacity of solar energy in the U.S. and form the "world's largest operational concentrated solar power complex."

The project, slated to begin in the second half of 2010 and go online in 2012, is expected to employ 1,000 people and create dozens of new permanent jobs.